


Just A Friendly Drink

by SerStolas



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-11
Updated: 2017-01-23
Packaged: 2018-08-08 01:04:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 22,845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7737040
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SerStolas/pseuds/SerStolas
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It started out with Inqusitor FCadash having a drink with Varric after the Oh Shit quest line.  Drabbles of the budding relationship between Sofia Cadash and Varric Tethras.  FCadash/Varric Tethras, prior FCadash/Blackwall.  Chapter order has been updated to make it a bit more chronological.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Just a Friendly Drink.  
> Dragon Age Inquisition Fan Fiction  
> Female Cadash Inquisitor  
> Note: I do not own DA or any of the characters or setting, those belong to Bioware, I am merely borrowing them for entertainment purposes. Originally posted on DeviantArt

“I thought I'd find you here.”

Varric glanced up at the Inquisitor as she joined him at the bar in the tavern. “If I'm not writing I'm usually here,” the dwarf admitted. “Or perhaps swapping stories with someone.

“You are quite a prolific storyteller, aren't you?” the Inquisitor replied. She considered Varric's mug of ale. “Make it two,” she asked the tavern keep. “Though I figured I would find you here because you needed a drink after all that?”

Varric gave her a wry smile. “What, Bianca and that business with Red Lyrium?” He shrugged nonchalantly. “Just another day's work?”

“Think you'll see her again?”

“Probably,” Varric admitted.

Sofia Cadash gave him a sidelong look. “Rather spirited woman, isn't she?” she said lightly. 

“Spirited?” Varric shrugged again. “That's one word for it. Bianca is very determined, she always has been. That's how she's gotten so far in the smith caste.” He frowned for a moment. “You won't a-”

“Mention anything about this to the Carta?” Sofia asked knowingly. She chuckled. “No Varric, your secret, and Bianca's, is safe with me. You know as well as I do that not all Carta clans work well together. The Cadash family has nothing to gain from your secrets, and I'm rather far from home, and from my family right now.”

Sofia took a long swig of ale as she watched her fellow surfacer and dwarf. 

Varric sat there drinking with her, considering the enigma that was the Inquisitor. “You don't really strike me as being someone involved in organized crime,” Varric ventured after several moments.

She snorted. “Come off it, Varric. Just because my family is Carta doesn't mean we're all assholes. Sure there are plenty of assholes in the Carta, but there are plenty of assholes in the merchant's caste too. Yes, we occasionally engage in business that is not necessarily legal in all places, but how often do members of the Merchant's Guild do the same sort of things? They just use prettier words and venues than we do.” She shook her head. “And you do realize that the surface Carta clans have been our best resource for lyrium for the templars and mages, right?”

He held his hands up in surrender. “Alright, alright.” He shook his head. “You're right, though. I've just had enough trouble with the Carta at times.”

“Everyone has trouble with the Carta, Varric, even the Carta,” Sofia replied with faint amusement. She tilted her head as she watched Varric drain his mug. “Care for another round?”

“If you're buying, sure.”

Sofia laughed and ordered another round for the two of them. “It's been a long week, and still too much to do.” She sighed and rubbed the back of her neck. “Alliances to make, messages to ram down people's throats if they don't want an alliance.” 

“Feeling worn out?” Varric asked.

“Yes,” Sofia admitted. “I never asked for all of this, but someone has to do it, I suppose. If I hadn't been where I was, if I hadn't walked in on the Divine, I'd probably be dead right now.”

“Along with the rest of us.” Varric gave her a serious look. “From what we saw in the Fade, if you hadn't interfered, Corypheus would have been successful the first time around, and we might all be dead.”

“He might still be, if I don't manage to stop him,” Sofia said softly.

“You'll stop him, and look dashing doing it,” Varric replied with more bravado than he felt. 

“We can only hope.” Sofia took another long drink. “Varric, is Bianca why you never got married?” she asked suddenly.

There was an awkward silence and she glanced at him. 

“Things between Bianca and I are...complicated,” Varric hedged.

“I guessed that,” Sofia replied. “Though you mentioned your brother grousing once that you were never going to get married.” She lifted both her brows. “That's how you two almost started a clan war, isn't it? You two got involved and your families didn't agree.”

“You know how clans can be,” Varric said finally. He looked at her critically. “If you were human you probably never would have asked.”

“Probably not.” Sofia shrugged. “And it may be a bit rude, but I'm a rather blunt person, you already knew that.”

“I'm really not drunk enough to talk more about this right now.”

“Then let me buy you another round.”


	2. Bad Decisions and Broken Hearts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Blackwall breaks Inquisitor Cadash's heart, will Varric be there to help her pick up the pieces?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone suggested a continuation of my FCadash Inquistor and Varric, so lets see where this goes.

Dragon Age Inquisition Fan Fiction  
Female Cadash Inquisitor  
Note: I do not own DA or any of the characters or setting, those belong to Bioware, I am merely borrowing them for entertainment purposes. 

The Inquisitor leaned against the parapet, eyes staring blindly at the snow-capped mountains beyond. She forced herself to breath in and breath out, but none of it could ease the ache in her chest. 

She'd been born into a Carta Clan. Sofia Cadash had spent her life lying, hiding, and generally achieving her means through sometimes underhanded tactics. She'd been involved in the trade of lyrium on the black market, and she and her clan made a good living that way. She felt familiar, comfortable even, with the seedier side of life.

But even Cadash had rules, an odd moral code she lived by. She didn't hurt children, at least not intentionally, and she didn't make a habit of lying to her lovers.

Maybe that was why all of this hurt so damned much. 

“Stone take him,” she hissed under her breath, slamming a fist down.

Then she heard familiar footsteps on the stone walkway behind her, footsteps she wished she could forget.

“Sofia?” Blackwall's voice was barely a whisper as he stepped up behind her. “Can we talk?”

She straightened and clasped her hands behind her back, but she kept her eyes on the mountains. “I don't think we really have anything to discuss, Warden,” she replied formally.

“Damn it, Sofia, look at me,” Blackwall almost pleaded.

She reflected that the next few minutes might be, in part, her own fault. After Blackwall had been brought back to Skyhold, after she had judged him and given his life to the Wardens, she'd refused to speak with him any further.

She spun on one boot, her gaze burning into his, suppressed anger, and somewhere deeper, hurt. “What do you think we have to discuss, Blackwall? Or should I call you Thom? The fact that you lied to me? The fact that you bedded me while maintaining your fucking charade and then slipped off in the middle of the night like a Stone cursed coward?”

He held a hand out to her, a regret in his eyes. “I'm sorry, Sofia. I never meant to hurt you...I never meant for it to go that far. But when I found out someone else was going to die for my mistake, I had to make it right.”

“You had to make it right only after someone else's life was on the line,” Sofia spat. “But you were content to spend years between your crimes and now living a lie and hiding from your past.”

“Have you never done anything you've regretted?” Blackwall asked. 

She snorted. “Oh I've done plenty I regretted. I slit the throat of a poor former templar once. Man was addicted to lyrium. He couldn't pay the agreed on price and he attacked me. I felt sorry for him in the end. He was going made without the lyrium.”

“You know what it's like to need to save your own skin.”

“Oh, I do,” Cadash replied. “But I never took the life of a child to do it.”

“Then why did you bother saving me?” Blackwall demanded. “Why not just leave me to hang?”

“Because for some fucked up reason in the past, a Warden, the real Blackwall, decided you were worth saving. He died so you could live, and I couldn't let -that- sacrifice be in vain,” Sofia replied, suddenly feeling very weary. “Cullen admired what you did, you know, going back and finally owning up to your crimes. I saved you because maybe there is something worth salvaging in your life, so maybe you can atone for what you did way back then.” Her gaze hardened. “But you can't atone for what you did to me.”

“Please, Sofia..” he reached out to her again.

She crossed her arms over her chest. “I am as angry at myself as I am at you. This IS partly my fault, as much as I hate to admit it. You warned me falling in love with you wasn't a good idea, you did try and stop me, but I didn't listen...but I'm angry at you too. You slept with me and then you slipped away in the middle of the night. Maybe if you'd been there in the morning and explained...maybe I might have understood. Stone knows I've down my own fair share of killing...but sleeping with me, lying to me, and leaving me? That I don't think I can forgive.”

“Is there no hope for us?” Blackwall asked sadly.

She shook her head. “I don't think there is. There are some things I just can't bring myself to forgive, not right now.”

“Maybe in the future?” he ventured hopefully.  
“I don't know, Blackwall, I really don't think so though,” Sofia replied, fighting back tears. She sighed. “I think, Warden Blackwall, the two of us need to maintain a professional relationship, but I believe it is best that we do not pursue anything further personally.”

She forced herself to straighten. “Good luck, Warden Blackwall, and good day.” She turned and walked in the opposite direction, and Blackwall knew better than to follow.

**************

“Thought I might find you here.”

Sofia glanced up from her mug of ale and found herself staring into Varric's golden orbs. The other dwarf gave her a half hearted smile and settled at the bar beside her. “Rough day.”

“Yes,” she replied, taking a long drink of ale. She eyed her now empty mug and gestured to the bar maid for another. 

Varric lifted a brow and signaled the bar maid for a mug of his own. “Trying to get blind drunk?”

“Maybe,” she admitted.

“Seems our roles are a bit reversed from the last time we did this,” Varric said as he watched her. 

“If I recall, last time we did this, your girlfriend had just revealed that she'd given up the secret of where to get red lyrium to the templars,” Sofia said dryly. “I suppose this isn't any worse. I go and sleep with a man who turns out to be a wanted murderer and who has been lying about his identity.”  
She snorted. “Damn, Varric, you and I really know how to pick them, don't we?”

“Well Bianca didn't murder anyone...” Varric replied weakly.

“No, she just got a shit-ton of people killed with her mistake,” Sofia replied. “Drink your ale.”

Varric took a long swig while he arched those honey blond brows at her.

Damn he looks good, Sofia thought to herself.

“You're in love with a married woman and I'm in love with a liar,” Sofia continued. “Why does love have to hurt so damned much. No happy endings, not like your stories.”

“Hey now, don't give up just yet,” Varric shot back. “You've already done half a dozen impossible things. Maybe you can find your happy ending too.”  
“I'm not drunk enough to believe that, Varric,” Sofia replied.

“Then we'll get drunk enough,” Varric replied.

She laughed. “Alright, as long as we don't end up on the roof again. I still have no idea how we got up there.”

“Sera said something about Bull tossing us there,” Varric replied. He shuttered lightly. “But I agree, let's not do that again.”

“To piss poor decisions in love?” Sofia asked, holding up her mug.

“To piss poor decisions, and stitched up hearts,” Varric agreed as he clanged his mug against hers.


	3. Orlais has the Best Wine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cadash has a conversation she would rather not have after saving the Empress and goes to find her favorite drinking partner to de-stress and lusts after everyone's favorite dwarven storyeller.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a Friendly Drink.  
> Dragon Age Inquisition Fan Fiction  
> Female Cadash Inquisitor  
> Note: I do not own DA or any of the characters or setting, those belong to Bioware, I am merely borrowing them for entertainment purposes.

The Inquisitor leaned on the balcony, her gaze staring at the starry night, and not bothering to give a backward glance as the black haired witch Morrigan swept back inside. Morrigan knew a lot more than she was willing to speak about, Cadash would bet her last copper on it, but Morrigan also had knowledge that might be useful to the Inquisition, to her, and maybe a key to defeating Corypheus.

Cadash would be damned if she let him destroy the world. 

She’d managed to destroy one of his plots here. Celene owed the Inquisitor her life, and Cadash wasn’t about to let that woman forget it. She and the elf, Brielle might even start working together again.

Cadash clasped her hands on the railing as she considered that. She knew the Empress and the Elf had once been lovers, and she was not beyond using that information to blackmail them both. When you lived in a Carta clan, you learned that there were many different ways of getting what you wanted or needed out of people. Sofia Cadash might prefer the simplicity of bribery or blade, but if she had to blackmail every noble in Thedas to defeat Corypheus, she would.  
Maybe that was one reason she and Leilana got along so well. 

She could feel the weight of the blade she wore strapped to one thigh, and another in her boot. No, Cadash was not at all squeamish about drawing blood or drawing secrets out of people to get work done. Really, being part of a criminal empire wasn’t that different from being a noble…nobles just had a venire of civility and dressed in prettier clothing. 

“Sofia?”

Blackwall’s voice cut into her thoughts and Cadash suppressed a grimence. She had saved his sorry ass for the greater good, but there were day she wished she had left him in that Orlesian cell to rot. She thought that she had loved him once. That’s why his lies had hurt so damned much. 

“What?” she asked tersely, not bothering to turn her head. She kept her gaze fixed on the starry sky above.

“Are you alright, after all that?” Blackwall asked, concern lacing his tone.

Why did he keep trying? She had told him in no uncertain terms that they were done, and right now she didn’t know that she could bring herself to try and pursue a friendship with him. 

“Believe it or not, Warden Blackwall, I am fine,” she replied in the same terse tone. She gripped the balcony railing with one hand. “This is just the Carta on a larger and prettier scale, Warden. I’ve dealt with Carta bosses than could give Orlesian nobles lessons on arrogance. Go away.”

“I thought perhaps that-“  
“That we might talk?” Cadash finally cast a scathing glance over her shoulder at him. “The time to talk, Warden, was a long time ago. You missed you chance.” She whirled around completely and stalked inside, ignoring the sad look Blackwall gave her and went looking for her favorite drinking partner.

Maybe she should feel bad for being nasty to him, but she didn’t. Yes, she knew Blackwall regretted lying to her, and yes she knew he was sorry, but that didn’t change the fact that he had lied, and then slept with her. She could unbend and forgive him enough to keep him a part of the Inquisition, but she could not find it in her heart to ever try and pursue a relationship with him. Ever. Again.

“Inquisitor,” Varric greeted her amidst from amidst the group of admirers he’d managed to gather. The other dwarf oozed charm, and damned if he wasn’t eye cashing, even in the garish red uniforms that Josephine had insisted they all wear.

“Varric,” she greeted him, sliding up to him and accepting a glass of wine from a passing server. “It isn’t brandy, but it isn’t bad,” she said conversationally.  
“We are in Orlais, after all,” Varric replied with that wicked grin of his.

Damn it all he was lovely. Thick blond main he somehow managed to keep tied back, as opposed to her unruly black curls, cut and sense of style few dwarves possessed, and a roguish smile that could send any lady’s heart fluttering.

Not to mention that chest hair.

Yes, she was lusting after Varric Tethras, surface dwarf and businessman extraordinaire. For one he was so utterly different from Blackwall, and she liked that. And he didn’t seem to mind her sometimes obviously lusting gaze. 

She flirted with him, lightly, and he flirted back, playfully, but both of them knew there was nothing serious in the flirting. They were just two dwarves, enjoying the company of another dwarf who they could relate to.

She was not falling in love with Varric Tethras, that was simply ridiculous. Before Blackwall, Sofia Cadash had always kept things casual, and if there was anything that Blackwall had taught her, it was that falling in love was a rather foolish thing to do. Besides, Varric was in love with Bianca.

She did wonder though, if he might be interested in benefits.

_Stop it Cadash_

“Mind if I join you?” Cadash asked aloud instead, looking towards a rather plush upholstered bench nearby. 

Varric laughed softly. “The two dwarves, the storyteller and Inquisitor, can get roaring drunk at the ball and leave Josephine to explain in the morning?”

Sofia Cadash felt a real grin tug her lips at that and clinked her glass against his proffered one. “As you said, Varric, we are in Orlais and they do have good wine, we might as well make the most of it.


	4. An Afternoon Walk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Inquisitor Sofia Cadash takes a walk, and Sera gives a pep talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a Friendly Drink.  
> Dragon Age Inquisition Fan Fiction  
> Female Cadash Inquisitor  
> Note: I do not own DA or any of the characters or setting, those belong to Bioware, I am merely borrowing them for entertainment purposes.

For once, the Inquisitor had a quiet afternoon to herself. No petitioners, no rushing off to pack to go to yet another area and kill demons, dark spawn, and Stone knew what else. 

It was, Sofia reflected, the perfect opportunity to explore some of the twists and turns of Skyhold. With as busy as they had been over the past few months, she still hadn't completely explored the keep. She flexed her left hand, watching the mark flare as she moved through the underground halls of the ancient fortress. It had been acting up again recently, too many rifts recently closed, she thought. Solas promised it wasn't going to spread, and it hadn't, but it still hurt every time the wretched thing flared up.

Solas honestly wasn't certain of they would be able to remove it after Corypheus had been defeated, or so he said. Her dwarven senses told her that elf was hiding more than he gave away.

Damn cloud headed elf, with his head so stuck in the fade that he ignored the plight of most of those outside it. He didn't care for the Dalish, he certainly didn't care for city elves, and he didn't bother to really hide his disdain. Sofia couldn't blame Sera for disliking the man, she shared a bit of Sera's opinions on him. 

“Though at least he's useful, and he hasn't lied about being a child murdering bastard that we know of,” she muttered to herself. She was still pissed at Blackwall. The human male had sought her out more than once when she returned to Skyhold from various missions, trying to entreat her to spend time with him,

And she ignored the request every damned time. She rubbed her forehead, getting a headache just thinking about it. Maybe she should have Cullen send Blackwall out with the Grey Wardens on their next foray. It would get him out of her hair for a few weeks at least.

Then again, if Leliana's scouts made any progress on finding the elven ruins that Morrigan had sent them on a hunt for, the Inquisition would need to gather its soldiers, including Blackwall, to march. Blackwall still somehow carried some clout with the Grey Wardens for whatever reason, probably due to Adamant Fortress.

She might not like him anymore, but Sofia wasn't stupid. She knew his presence would prove a boon for morale among the Grey Wardens. She made a mental note to check with her spymaster for the latest reports on the scouts' efforts.

She came to the end of the current hall and a set of stairs. With a shrug she climbed them, winding her way up and through another wall until she came to a door she suspected was an exterior door. She opened it and was met by the sight of battlements. The sun was still high so it wasn't too cool to wander outside. 

Her steps carried her along the battlements, debating idly if she ought to replace her bowstring, and perhaps if she wanted Dagna to imbed a rune in the shortbow she used. The longbows looted on their missions or supplied by the quartermaster were all made for humans and elves and were a bit too tall for her. The shortbow didn't have the range of the longbow, but she wasn't afraid to draw up closer to the melee for a shot.

She was so deep in thought that as she reached another door and opened it, she didn't quite realize she wasn't alone anymore until she heard the creaking of a bed.  
There at the top of a tower, the Iron Bull and Dorian were tangled in a mess of sweat and sheets. Bull was pounding into Dorian and Dorian made mewling sounds of pleasure at the qunari's movements. Both men froze momentarily though when the door opened.

Sofia blinked at them. They blinked at her. Then Bull grinned wickedly. “Inquisitor? Care to join in?”

Dorian groaned softly and looked back at his lover. “Don't mind him, Sofia,” he coughed lightly.

“Er, I'll knock next time,” Sofia replied. “Bull, Dorian, I'll see you two later. Enjoy.” With that she quickly reversed course and left the room, shutting the door firmly behind her.

Sofia raced down an outer courtyard stair and towards the tavern. She knew that Dorian and Bull had bantered quite a bit back and forth, but she hadn't known they were sleeping together. As she entered the tavern she almost ran into Sera.

“Whooa, what's got into you?” Sera asked as she caught Sofia by the shoulder.

Sofia coughed. “Dorian...and Iron Bull.”

“Ooh,” Sera tittered. “They weren't doing it on the battlements again, were they?”

“No, somewhat private room, but I still managed to walk in on them,” Sofia replied, reddening for a moment.

“Got you knackered?” Sera asked. “Come on, lets go on the roof again and talk, I got pastries this time, no more nasty cookies.” 

And so shortly after, Sofia found herself sitting on the roof with Sera, drinking watered down ale and eating cherry tarts. Sofia really did prefer tarts to cookies. Cookies were too..dense for her liking.

“See, I've got myself a pretty little red head I roll with sometimes,” Sera said as she nibbled on a tart. “That's what you need, Inquisitor, a good lay.”

Sofia's brows shot up almost to her hairline. “And where, pray tell, would I get a good lay, Sera? I'm not crawling back into the hay loft with Blackwall.”

“Definitely shouldn't,” Sera agreed. “Not with the way he lied and left you like he did. Arsehole.”

“I'll drink to that,” Sofia replied, lifting her cup. 

“Bet there's plenty who wouldn't mind a roll in the sheets with you here though,” Sera said as she looked down into the courtyard. “You're their bloody hero. Saved the court and Queen, saved the Wardens.” She shook her head. “But I know you who need. That blond dwarf, one with the crossbow who's always telling stories. Two of you should stop making moon calf eyes at each other and just fuck already.”

Sofia nearly choked on her tart.

“What?!”

“Oh come on,” Sera laughed. “You look at him when he's not looking, he looks at you when you ain't looking. Two of you want to bed each other, so just do it.”

“It isn't quite that simple,” Sofia said weakly.

“Sure it is,” Sera replied. “Yeah sure he's got that other dwarf he's moony over, but we aren't talking about you two settling down and raising dwarf babies. We're talking about you two just blowing off steam. Can't tell me you don't like his arse.”

“Yes I find him attractive,” Sofia groaned into her mug. “But I don't think Varric is the kind for a one night stand.”

“Never know til you try,” Sera replied. She patted Sofia on the shoulder. “You should try it, might do you both some good.


	5. Aftermath of the Well

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cadash makes her decision at the Well of Sorrows, then broods and drinks afterwards. When Varric joins her, she reveals a little bit too much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a Friendly Drink.  
> Dragon Age Inquisition Fan Fiction  
> Female Cadash Inquisitor  
> Note: I do not own DA or any of the characters or setting, those belong to Bioware, I am merely borrowing their toys.

The flicker of power danced over the Well of Sorrows, or whatever it was. Sofia Cadash could hear Solas and Morrigan arguing over who would use the power or if it even should be used. Others voice their own opinions, trying to tug the Inquisitor’s decision one way or another.

Why, by the Stone, were they even asking her? Was it because of the stupid, throbbing, green mark on her left hand? That mark had given her nothing but trouble since the moment she'd interrupted the Elder One’s ritual in the Temple of Sacred Ashes. She hated it. Normally the mark was just a steady, dull pain that she’d learned to ignore. Solas had been able to dull it, but neither of them had ever told anyone else that he couldn’t make the pain fade completely. As long as the mark was there, she would feel it, and feel the pain caused by the power contained within.

It was always worse when closing a rift, when it went from a dull ache to a searing pain that traveled up the length of her arm and cut down to the bone. Those moments she gritted her teeth and hoped none of her companions ever saw how much it hurt her.

Here, in this ancient elven temple, it wasn’t a searing pain, but it definitely hurt. She wanted to leave this place. She’d seen Corypheus possess a Gray Warden (which left her questioning her choice to spare the Wardens), dealt with a floor puzzle, and fought monstrosities. Some days she wished her family had never sent her to spy on the Conclave.

“Heavy stuff, huh Inquisitor?” Varric’s rich, warm voice sounded in her ear and she suppressed a shiver. The man’s voice was pure sin of the Chantry type, a sin she couldn’t let herself indulge in no matter how much she wanted to.

She met his honey brown eyes nodded. “I hate this shit,” she muttered under her breath. “Take this power in my head or let the witch I don’t quite trust do it. What in Stone?”

Varric shrugged. “So just go with your gut.”

Right…well, she knew she didn’t want some weird power floating around in her head. Let the witch, who’d spent all those years studying this stuff, handle that.

“Will you all just shut up,” Cadash growled out. Surprisingly, she achieved silence instantly. Well wonder of wonders. She glared at the gathered throng, her hazel eyes flashing a deeper green, almost the same color as the mark on her hand. “The decision is mine. I’m the one leading this blasted Circus.” She snapped her head to Morrigan.

“You drink from it, Witch. I already have enough to deal with from the mark.”

Cadash watched with a dispassionate gaze as Morrigan waded into the pool and watched freaky ancient elven magic surround the witch. She saw Morrigan wince, for just a moment, and she wouldn’t have caught it if she hadn’t been watching so closely. Then within minutes the flashy elven magic show was over, and they were left standing in the temple.

Cadash barely recalled the journey back from the temple, as it seemed they were sealed in by elven magic and couldn’t escape the temple proper. Instead, Morrigan lead them through one of the elven mirrors, through the gray landscape of betwixed and between, and they arrived back in Skyhold proper, in the little room off the garden where Morrigan stored her mirror.  
The truth was Cadash didn’t want to remember the journey. The past several months had been strange as shit, with falling from the Fade, demons trying to mess with her head, falling from the Fade again, going through magic mirrors…she never thought she would miss the backstabbing of the Carta. At least there the problems were mundane and she knew what to expect.

She saw Solas cast a glance at her as they returned, but she ignored him, ignored Cassandra, ignored the witch, and even ignored Varric’s sympathetic gaze as she stalked off. 

Cadash was so utterly tired of this. She was tired of being called Inquisitor, she was tired of dealing with demons falling from the sky and different factions vying for her attention and support. She was doing this because someone had to, not because she wanted to. She really didn’t believe Andraste had lead her into the room that day that the Divine had died. It was just dumb, blind luck. Had anything really gone well since that day?

She paused half way up the steps to her room (who in the Fade had decided to give her a suite at the top of a bunch of stairs anyway? Why couldn’t she have gotten a groundfloor room?). Most of what had happened, of what she’d done, since stepping out of the Fade with the mark on her hand had been purely out of necessity. Traipsing about the Hinterlands the Storm Coast either closing rifts or helping people or slaughtering demons and darkspawn; wandering into the Emerald Graves and the Exaulted Plains; dealing with a monster rift and darkspawn in Crestwood; roasting in armor in the Hissing Wastes and the Western Approach; or saving Inquisition Forces in the Fallow Mire….none of it had been done for fun or even profit.

She’d exerted herself on behalf of the Inquisition, to close the whole in the sky and defeat the Elder One. She’d nearly died multiple times during the whole thing, and they still didn’t know where Corypheus was now. The whole idea of serving the greater good went against everything that Cadash had ever done in her life..sure she’d helped out friends and relatives in the Carta, and occasionally done a good deed so the Ancestors wouldn’t completely hate her, but saving the damned world?

People relied on her, people trusted her, people looked up to her.

“All to blasted weird,” she swore as she started up the stairs again. She wanted a drink again, and the thought of going to the tavern and people pestering her for a retelling of what happened at the Temple of Mythal did not appeal in the slightest. She didn’t want to deal with anyone right now.

Okay, that was a lie, she thought as she reached the top of the stairs and entered her room. Her eyes fell on the ridiculously large bed. There was one particular dwarf whose company, and more, she would welcome in a heartbeat. But that wasn’t something she had any right to ask of him, no matter how much she wanted to.

“Damn you, Bianca,” she swore as she moved to the desk and pulled out a bottle of Gray Warden brew she’d found on one of their trips to the Hinterlands. She had no idea what was in it, and knew it was a bad idea to drink it, but she didn’t care right now. She flopped into her desk chair and propped her boots up on the edge of the desk, popping the cork out of the bottle.

“Here’s to getting blind drunk and waking up with a hangover,” she murmured as she took a swig. Gah, the stuff was strong, but strong was good right now. Tonight she really wanted nothing more than to drink herself into oblivion.  
Normally when she drank, it was just for enjoyment. She and Varric had gotten a bit tipsy a few times together, but they never got roaring drunk. The two dwarves drank in each other’s company for the fun of it, and that was another reason it was better he wasn’t here right now. She didn’t want him to know that for once she was drinking to get completely smashed and forget a couple of hours.

She couldn’t even get laid to help forget her troubles for a few hours. Blackwall was absolutely out of the question after the way their relationship had ended, though she didn’t doubt he’d gladly take it up again if she was willing to forgive him for his lie. And the man she really did want to sleep with was in love with another woman and she’d never heard of him ever taking up a casual relationship, and she had checked with her Carta sources. Truth was, she didn’t want to find just a one night stand right now either, not with as much insanity as filled her life right now.

“Can’t get a bedmate, might as well get drunk,” she laughed darkly as she lifted the bottle up in a mock toast and took another swig. She felt the burn all the way down her throat and began to appreciate the haphazard way that Gray Wardens enjoyed their alcohol. 

As she started to get a little tipsy she realized she was wrong that nothing good had come of everything to do with the Inquisition. She had made friends at least. Pretty much every one of her companions in the Inquisition, except for perhaps Blackwall, had become a friend in one fashion or another; even prickly Vivienne.

“To friends then,” she made another mock toast and took a long drink.

Cadash had gone through a fourth of the bottle when she heard a soft knock at the door. She glared at the door for a long moment and didn’t answer, shifting herself in her chair into a more comfortable position. There was another knock, and then she heard the sound of lockpicks in the lock. Had to be Sera. The elf was probably going to try and get her to play some tricks on their friends or something, and she really wasn’t in the mood for it.

She opened her mouth to tell Sera to leave her alone when the door swung open and she saw Varric standing in the doorway.

Her jaw dropped and she looked at him like a landed fish.

“Figured you’d be up here when I didn’t see you in the tavern,” Varric said conversationally as he shut and locked the door behind him. “You didn’t seem like you wanted the lively atmosphere of the tavern after that temple.”

“I didn’t want a bunch of people asking me to recount things,” Cadash muttered. She didn’t move but instead gestured for him to pull up another nearby chair. “Come to get drunk with me?” she asked. “I don’t mean tipsy like we normally get, mind you. I intend to drink til I drop tonight.”

Varric frowned at her words as he took the chair beside her desk. “That bad?” he asked.

“We fought through Red Templars to get trapped in an ancient Elven temple and then had to decide who got to drink from the crazy ass well,” Cadash replied. “Not exactly the kind of thing to bring a smile to your face.” She shook her head. “You know, the one good thing I’ve gotten out of this whole Inquisition stuff is friends..but everything else? I could have lived without it.”  
“It hasn’t been all bad, has it?” Varric asked in a light tone that she didn’t quite believe.

She took another drink then offered him the bottle, beginning to feel pleasantly blurred. “Not the friends, particularly your handsome ass.”

Varric smirked at her a bit and then eyed the bottle after taking a sip. “Where’d you get this…what is this?”

“One of those Gray Warden bottles,” she smirked back. “Good stuff for when you want to get plastered.”

His golden eyebrows rose up but he took another swig and passed the bottle back to her.

They shared the bottle in silence for a few minutes, and she began to feel a bit more than blurred. Varric was in her room, though he wasn’t in her bed, but at least he was here in the room. Maybe they could…but that stupid Bianca. She knew that woman would come up again.

She sighed and set her booted feet on the floor. “Varric, why do you have to love Biance?” she asked him plaintively. “I mean, I know you’ve known her for years, but all she does is use you…and she’s married after all. So she gets to use her and gets her cake and everything else while you’re left with just the occasional fling with her, it isn’t fair.”

Varric eyed her warily as he saw Cadash actually give him a pouting look. 

“I’d love you if you let me, you know…I at least like you now, not just friendly, but like-like. But there’s always Bianca, and I know you’d never go for it.” She slumped back in her chair. “I have absolutely fabulous taste, don’t I? I start to fall in love with a liar, then break that off, then start falling in love with a dwarf who is madly in love with another woman who just uses him as she pleases and shoves him aside and he’ll never give me a second glance.

She went to take another sip of the bottle and realize they’d emptied it. “I think I have another bottle here somewhere,” she murmured, “Just give me a second and..”her words drifted off as she drooped in her chair under weariness.

She didn’t see the sad, longing look that Varric gave her.

“Why don’t you go to bed, Sofia,” he said gently.

Varric helped her from her desk and helped her get down to her under tunic and bloomers and then she crawled into bed.

“This is nice,” she murmured as she started to drop off. “Wish you could join me. Stupid Bianca.” 

“Maybe someday,” Varric said softly as he watched her nod off. He knew that she didn’t mean his crossbow. Quietly, Varric left the room, shutting the door firmly behind him and sought his own quarters. The things that the Inquisitor had said while drunk, and offguard, had surprised him, and left him with a strange longing that he wasn’t sure he could really follow up on.


	6. Victory and Sunrise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Inquisition finds success, but what does the future hold for Cadash now?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a Friendly Drink.  
> Dragon Age Inquisition Fan Fiction  
> Female Cadash Inquisitor  
> Note: I do not own DA or any of the characters or setting, those belong to Bioware, I am merely borrowing them for entertainment purposes.

They were alive, and they’d actually done it.

Morrigan had defeated Corypheus’s dragon and Cadash had taken one last final shot at his head at almost point blank range. Corypheus was dead and the tear in the sky had been closed.

Cadash had only told one person about the last time she saw Solas, mourning over the broken orb that Corypheus had corrupted and then destroyed. She trusted Leilana to try and track the elven apostate. Solas knew more than he was willing to tell, and even if Cadash did count him among her friends, she didn’t trust him to not keep information, important information, to himself.

That final time she hadn’t taken Varric with her to the center of the ruins. Varric had remained with other Inquisition forces, fighting off demons surrounding the temple ruins. He hadn’t been happy with her about being left behind, but she’d told him she needed him to keep an eye on things here, particularly since she had Cassandra with her in the ruins.

So Cadash had taken Dorian, Bull, and Cassandra with her into the ruins. She hadn’t been surprised when Blackwall had asked, but she’d ignored that request, though unlike Varric, or even Vivienne and Sera, he hadn’t gotten an explanation as to why. She hadn’t bothered explaining anything to Solas because she knew he would follow them into the ruins anyway, in fact she had counted on it. It had given them one more edge against Corypheus. She recalled that last glance she and Solas had exchanged before she’d lead her team into the ruins. Solas had smirked, and she’d nodded, acknowledging she knew he’d be following them in his own fashion.

That smirk was gone that final time she’d seen him, mourning over the loss of that thrice cursed orb.

Her final conversation with Solas had dominated her thoughts as she and her group had rejoined the rest outside the ruins. She’d been so preoccupied, she hadn’t seen the concerned look Varric had flashed her way, quickly covered by his normal demon-may-care charm.

They had won.

Cadash went through the motions of walking through the crowd with her companions, making a short speech, and celebrating with everyone. She’d been mildly surprised by the banquet that Josephine had managed to pull off. That woman was talented, and she wondered what kind of wonders Josephine could pull off with Carta weddings.

She snorted at the thought now, taking a light sip of her wine as she made her rounds through the great hall. Everyone was celebrating and making their plans for the future. Some of them intended to leave soon, going their separate ways from the Inquisition, like Vivienne. Dorian was considering going home to see what he could change, but Cadash had a feeling she could convince him to stick around for awhile longer.

Others, like Josephine, Cassandra, and Cullen, seemed to guess that the Inquisition’s work wasn’t quite done yet. She’d be glad for their company in the coming days. Leliana she would miss, as that one would soon be traveling to Val Royale to be crowned the new Divine.

And Blackwall, bless the Stone, would finally be leaving for the Gray Wardens. She hoped to never see those dark eyes staring at her longingly and sorrowfully again.

The last of her rounds among her companions and friends had been with Varric. She’d been unsurprised, and a little sad, when he’d announced he would be traveling back to Kirkwall soon. He did have businesses to run, and a life he’d left behind there. She had a feeling he also wanted to create a safe place for Hawke to return to once the woman returned from dealing with the Gray Wardens.

They’d made some lighthearted jokes and talked about playing another few games of Wicked Grace. Varric wasn’t leaving today, he wasn’t leaving tomorrow, but he was leaving soon. And she couldn’t follow him…that was assuming he’d want her to.

No matter how much she wanted something with Varric, Varric could never offer her anything more than friendship, and it hurt, perhaps more than it should have.

Sofia Cadash, ruthless Carta smuggler, feeling pained because she was in love with someone who couldn’t love her back. It was like something out of one of Varric’s tales, only far more painful.

So she hid it. Behind a veneer of humor and sarcastic wit, Sofia hid her pain. 

“Once things have settled down here and people stop fussing about the Inquisitor, you’ll have to come and visit me in Kirkwall,” Varric said with a grin as he lifted up a goblet of wine in jesting toast. “You’ll like it, I think. Busy, chaotic, and downright corrupt in some places. And I have enough friends in the Coterie to give your Carta a run for their money.”

That was another conclusion that Cadash had come to in her time as Inquisitor. Her time with the Carta, with smuggling and enforcing directly, was done. The Inquisition was a force to be reckoned with, and it wasn’t just going to dissolve overnight. There were still come rifts yet to close, and some unfinished business that Cadash intended to take care of. A force this side didn’t just disperse. At least the next few months, if not years, would be spent tying up lose ends and dealing with issues that people brought to the Inquisition rather than the rulers of their own country.

But after everything she’d done, she had earned a break, and a visit to Kirkwall and seeing Varric sounded nice.

She shouldn’t, she knew she shouldn’t, because that same temptation would be dancing in front of her the second she stepped foot in Kirkwall, but she couldn’t help herself. Cadash smiled; a smile with a rare quality that she gave no one else but Varric. “I’d like that, Varric,” she replied.

She leaned forward just a little and tucked a strand of his golden hair behind one ear. She knew she shouldn’t, but she did, and Varric didn’t push her away when she did. He just kept on smiling, and she thought she saw his eyes softening for a moment. If she leaned forward just a little more she could kiss him and…

A Fereldan noble chose that moment to come up to talk to her, Bann Teagan if she recalled his name correctly. King Alistair and Queen Ambra had sent him to represent Fereldan interests for the time being.

Cadash sighed and turned her attention to the Fereldan noble, though she caught Varric’s eyes as she turned, and he met her gaze with mirthful, whiskey colored eyes and a look that seemed to promise they would talk later.

Later that night, closer to morning really, Sofia Cadash found herself walking the battlements of Skyhold. She’d been watching the sky when she’d decided to climb down the battlements from her balcony. Briefly she had considered packing a bag, scaling the battlements, and vanishing, but something told her Leliana would have found her eventually.

She’d just scaled her way up a broken part of wall onto the current set of battlement she was walking when she saw a tall figure in the distance. The profile appeared to be male, not tall enough to be a Qunari, but didn’t fit the profile of Dorian or Blackwall. The waning moonlight spilled onto golden hair and she nodded.

“Hello Cullen,” she said as she approached. “Little late to be up, isn’t it?”

“I could say the same to you, Inqu- Sofia,” the Inquisition’s Commander replied. Somewhere along the way, the friendship between the Inquisitor and the Commander and grown until they dispensed with titles when talking privately. Cullen was one of those few friends, like Cassandra, who Sofia trusted to give it to her straight, no matter how cutting the truth may be. “Left your own party, did you?”

She laughed as she came to stand on the battlements beside him. He was staring north, towards Weisshaupt, she knew. It wasn’t the first time Cadash had found him up here in the middle of the night since Adamant Fortress. “They’re too preoccupied with the victory to notice their hero slipped off,” Cadash replied in a light tone. 

“Are you alright?” Cullen asked, glancing down at the dwarf beside him.

Sofia sighed, leaning on the battlement. “It’s a lot to process,” she admitted. “Once the elation wears off, I’ll have to live with all the choices I’ve made, the people I could and couldn’t save. And I don’t think the Inquisition is going away just yet. There’s still work for us to do, and a lot of displaced people who have looked to us for protection.” She frowned. “The war between mages and Templars isn’t entirely over with yet either.”

“You’re right,” Cullen agreed. “There are still some rifts to close, and for awhile at least, several months or years, I suspect, people will look to you for guidance.” He patted her shoulder. “You won’t be alone to do it though. Cassandra and I will still be here, as will Josephine.”

“Thank you for that, Cullen,” Sofia replied. “Varric says I should visit him in Kirkwall once things calm down a bit.”

“He’s right,” Cullen said. “You will need a break after all of this.” He looked thoughtful. “I might go with her. Perhaps she’ll have returned by then. With the Inquisition and everything, she might go back to Kirkwall.”

“Hawke.” Sofia made it a statement, not a question. She’d seen the way the Champion and the Commander looked at each other, and knew Hawke had spent more than one night in Cullen’s quarters, but she’d never spoken a word of it to anyone. A few other people knew…Leliana and some of her people, Cassandra, and of course Varric, but none of them had advertised their knowledge.

Cullen smiled a little as he glanced north again and nodded. “Yes. With Corypheus dead and a new Divine, perhaps she’ll finally be safe. She’s never had it easy.”

“I gathered that from Varric’s book,” Cadash replied. She looked thoughtful. “She’s managed to survive a lot. She’ll survive and you’ll see her again, Cullen. Just give it a little bit of time, and maybe the two of you will get that happy ending.”

Cullen cocked his head at her. “And what of you, Inquisitor Sofia Cadash? What will you do?”

And somehow, she realized he knew. She didn’t ask how, the Commander had his own way of finding things out, but he knew how she felt for a certain dwarf they both knew.

She shrugged. “There’s nothing to be had there, Cullen. He’s got his past, and someone he won’t let go of. But I can be his friend…I’d rather be his friend than never see him again.”

Cullen nodded. “For what it’s worth, he’s still a better choice than some others.”

Neither of them spoke Blackwall’s name, they didn’t have to.

Inquisitor and Commander both fell silent again, watching as the sun began to rise over the horizon.

“It’s a new dawn, Sofia,” Cullen said as the sky splashed red and gold. “If an old Templar like me can find someone, you shouldn’t give up hope just yet.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Sofia replied, her eyes on the sun. Maybe he was right, maybe a new dawn did signify new chances. Only time would tell.


	7. Time for a Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of closing the breach one final time, and a promise to visit Varric when she gets the chance. Maybe the future isn't so bleak after all

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a Friendly Drink.  
> Dragon Age Inquisition Fan Fiction  
> Female Cadash Inquisitor  
> Note: I do not own DA or any of the characters or setting, those belong to Bioware, I am merely borrowing them for entertainment purposes.

The breach was finally and completely gone. They’d defeated the ancient Tevinter Magistar Corypheus, and the world was safe again. All of the pain, hardship, and sorrow of the past several months had paid off. 

But she had other worries now. Solas had taken off, and she had to wonder what he had to do with the orb. There were still rifts out there she needed to close. The Inquisition still stood ready for orders. Somewhere out there mages and Templars still warred with each other, though in smaller numbers now thanks to the Inquisition.

And her hand burned. Pain coursed through her left arm and left her aching. She gritted her teeth momentarily and shoved it all behind a smile, the way she’d been doing for months. Solas was the only one who had known how much the anchor still hurt her. It didn’t flare as badly, now that the breach was closed, but she knew her body had never been meant to bear this burden, but it was hers, all the same.

She was walking back to Skyhold with her companions, hearing them talk of the victory, of their success behind her. Cassandra strode just a few steps behind her to the left, the reliable Seeker, once prison guard, now best of friends. Varric walked near the Seeker, chatting with her about just how he might try and pen all of this on to paper. The fourth member of their group was gone. Solas had fled somewhere, and Cadash wasn’t sure if she could blame him. He mourned that orb, mourned it the way some people mourn the loss of a child. 

She would have to find out later why.

For now she forced a smile onto her lips, relying on her years of lying in the Carta to get her through the next several hours. People were cheering as they entered Skyhold, relief written on many faces, joy at survival and a new promise at life on others.

For so many others, it was over. They could plan to go back to their lives before the breach, and pick up whatever pieces might be left.

Inquisitor Sofia Cadash would never consider it truly over until that damnable mark was off her hand.

She mounted the stairs as they reached them, hearing the roar of those cheering around them. Josephine, Leliana, and Cullen stood there, all smiling at her and not seeing beyond the mask of a smile she wore…she couldn’t even see Leliana detecting the truth in her eyes. Had she really gotten that good at lying about the pain?

She turned to the crowd and lifted her left hand aloft, and then another roar of cheering filled Skyhold’s courtyard. Cadash let herself take a single moment to revel in their happiness and joy. Survival was a heady thing.

She’d never expected to make it out of all of this alive, truth be told.

A whirl of activity followed, and she was swept up in it. A feast filled the main hall of Skyhold, and the courtyards below. Everyone celebrated, cheering and babbling at their good fortune. Cadash found herself rubbing elbows yet again with any number of nobles from Orlais, Fereldan, and even the Free Marches.   
Some fawned, some attempted to pull promises from her of her support for their various endevours, others just watched behind smiling masks, waiting to trip her up.

She never did. Not this time, anyway. She could lie with the best of them. 

After her obligations to entertain nobles were through, she went and visited her companions. Dorian was contemplating going back to Tevinter, but he didn’t seem completely decided yet. Bull assured her the Chargers weren’t done with the Inquisition yet. Leliana would have to leave soon for Orlais and take up her place as the new Divine. Sera would be on her merry way. Vivienne would travel back to Orlais and bid for whatever power she could.

She always knew Vivienne was a social climber…at least the mage had never hidden that fact.

She forced herself to talk to Blackwall, Thom Rainier, whatever he called himself these days. She forced herself to be polite and civil. He’d finally stopped trying to reignite the romance between them. He finally seemed to accept that his lies had killed any chance of anything between them. He had helped the Inquisition, and she owed it to him to thank him for that at least and wish him luck.

“Blackwall,” she greeted him as she found him holding a mug of ale and chatting with a dwarven craftsman at one of the tables in the great hall.

“Inquisitor,” he greeted her with a formality that would never hint at their past relationship.

“So you’re off in the next few days for the Joining?” she asked. “Have everything you need for the trip?”

He nodded somberly, and for a moment she caught a hint of regret in his expression. “I do, Inquisitor, thank you for asking. I’ll be leaving in two days for Weisshaupt.”

Cadash kept her mask fixed in place as she nodded. “Thank you for your help with the Inquisition, Blackwall,” she said at last. “I hope you have a safe journey, and I hope you survive the Joining. You have potential and a second chance. Do not waste it.” She offered him her gloved right hand.

“I-,” Blackwall paused and then nodded before shaking her hand firmly. “Thank you, Inquisitor, for everything. Good luck to you as well.”

Then they both turned away, him to his conversation, and Cadash to her rounds. She felt some regret for what might have been, and wondered a moment if she had been too unforgiving. But she’d closed that door rather deliberately, and for her it was too late to go back.

She found Varric at last, near his normal spot, noting he’d already scribbled something onto a nearby piece of paper. She didn’t have to force her smile for him. “Varric. So what are your plans now?”

“I’ll stay for a little while longer,” Varric replied with that demon may care grin of his. “Make sure you’re settled before I head off back to Kirkwall.”

“So you’re headed home then?” Cadash asked, a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. But she knew she couldn’t have him, he was in love with Bianca, the real Bianca, and she was just his friend, no matter what else she might want.  
“Soon enough,” Varric replied. “But I’ve got business in Kirkwall I have to attend to.” He gave her a disarming smile. “You could always come visit, you know.”

Sofia felt her heart beating a bit faster at that suggestion. “I might,” she said. “I just might when I get the chance.”

Eventually the party wound down, and Cadash managed to slip off on her own into her rooms. She stood on her balcony and watched the sun rise. Briefly she considered the fact she would have to sleep eventually, but the high of victory, and the now dull throb in her hand were going to keep her awake for awhile longer.

There had been a great many rifts down here in the south. Maybe she’d have to use the excuse of making sure there weren’t any in the North to go and visit the Free Marches, Kirkwall specifically. 

And for the first time in weeks, her heart felt just a little lighter.


	8. Why Don't You Join Us?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The whole in the sky may be fixed and the Elder One may be dead, but there's still work for the Inquisition. Cadash gets a request to investigate the possible Avvar problem in the Frostback Basin, and decides she wants an old friend along for the ride.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a Friendly Drink.  
> Dragon Age Inquisition Fan Fiction  
> Female Cadash Inquisitor  
> Note: I do not own DA or any of the characters or setting, those belong to Bioware, I am merely borrowing them for entertainment purposes.

Cadash rubbed her forehead as she felt a headache forming. She wasn’t entirely sure what to think of the Avvar, other than the fact that they were as complicated as any other people in Thedas, no matter how barbaric and simplistic they might seem to outsiders.

 

And now they had a whole tribe of them that were trying to bring about the end of the world…again.

 

Cadash was getting really sick of people asking her to stop the world from ending, but the Inquisition was still a fairly major power in Thedas, and she had the resources, and the alliances, to investigate this. She’d know, somehow, that even once the whole in the Sky was repaired and that stupid darkspawn Magister was dead that she wouldn’t be able to just go back to her life in the Carta.

 

The Inquisition had made her a legitimate leader, not just a smuggler or a “carta thug.” She had to deal with the good and bad that came of it.

 

And she still had that stone cursed green mark on her hand. It flared up now and again, causing her a fairly significant amount of pain, but she still wore a glove over the mark, even months after closing the breach for good.

 

They’d be leaving for the Frostback Basin soon, and certain members of her own team were no longer available. Blackwall had left for the wardens (thank the Maker), they still hadn’t been able to find any sign of Solas, and Varric had gone back to Kirkwall. Vivenne had returned to Orlias as well, though Cadash knew if she really needed the mage, the woman was only a raven away.

 

Of the three, she missed Varric the most. Blackwall she never wanted to see again, and Solas, well the stick up his butt elf had been a friend, but she wasn’t sure if it was good or bad that he was gone. But Varric? She missed their target practice in one of the yards of Skyhold, their drinking sessions, and their banter.

 

She also found that even after seven months, her feelings for her fellow dwarf hadn’t changed. In fact, they’d only gotten stronger, though that could just be absence making the heart grow fonder. She’d hoped the distance would let her emotions die a natural death and she’d just move on with her life.

 

But she was in love with that golden haired, lyrical dwarf.

 

Cadash planned to take Cassandra, Dorian, and the Iron Bull with her, with the Chargers coming with them to provide some additional support to Inquisition troops if needbe.

 

She really wanted Varric there too though.

 

Cadash stared at the blank sheet of vellum before her, debating for a long moment before she picked up her quill and started penning a letter.

 

_Varric,_

_How’s business? I heard you managed to sell rights to the Inquisition’s story to a publisher already, though I know you haven’t finished the book yet. I’d better get a copy of the first run._

_Odd matters for the Inquisition had been keeping me busy. It’s been months but people in the area still come to us for problems. Maybe because they know the Inquisition will actually take action, unlike some nobles we all know._

_As a result, we’ve been asked to deal with a group of Avvar called the Jaws of Hakkon. Something about an ancient dragon, etc, etc, you know, the usual sort of mess. There’s also rumors that the first Inquisitor may have visited the area. Think of the book that would make, eh?_

_If you’re interested in tagging alone, meet me in the Frostback Basin in three weeks. You’ll know the place, I haven’t bothered to try and change the design of the Inquisition’s banners yet._

_Sincerely,_

_Sofia Cadash_

She’d almost written love…she really wanted to write love instead of sincerely but knew it was a bad idea. Leliana’s spies had advised her that Bianca hadn’t been anywhere physically near Varric since the red lyrium incident, but they said she had sent him messages. Cadash had toyed with the idea of having those messages intercepted, but knew she really didn’t have a right to do so, no matter how she might feel about Varric.

 

It had been a moment of weakness that had left her drinking another bottle of her stash of Gray Warden alcohol.

 

She folded and sealed the message then carried out of her room and up to Leliana’s eerie. The woman might be gone, off to be Divine now, but she maintained her network of spies within and for the Inquisition, and one of her agents was always available.

 

“Have this sent to Varric Tethras in Kirkwall,” Cadash instructed the agent. “Then tell those who will accompany us to the Frostback Basin to prepare. We’re leaving in two days.”

 

“Yes Inquisitor,” the agent replied, saluting.

 

~~

Cadash scowled at the mountains in the background. The air was cool here in Frostback Basin, no cooler than at Skyhold, but there was something about the area she didn’t like.

 

She moved around the Inquisition’s base camp as her companions settled in. The camp reminded her of the many other camps she’d been in over the past few years. This scene had become far more home like to her than the back alleys and safehouses of the Carta.

 

She supposed she wasn’t really much of a Carta dwarf anymore.

 

“Go ahead and get some rest, Dorian,” she called to the mage, glancing over her shoulder as she saw him emerge from a tent and eye her somewhat tiredly. They’d been in the saddle most of the day getting here, and she knew everyone was a bit worn out from travel.

 

She also knew that Dorian and Bull probably wanted some time together.

 

“Inquisitor, Sofia, do you wish to meet with Scout Harding now or later?” Cassandra asked as she stepped out of her own tent.

 

“Let’s give it an hour, Cassandra,” Cadash replied as she glanced at the warrior. “Give you a chance to check over gear. I have a feeling once we get started, we’re not going to have a lot of downtime until these Avvar are dealt with.”

 

The human woman pursed her lips for a moment then nodded, and Cadash suspected Cassandra had another one of Varric’s novels stowed in a saddlebag. She’d found Cassandra, more than once, reading one of those smutty novels as a way to wind down after a long day.

 

Cadash walked the perimeter of the camp, wondering what she was getting herself into this time, and debating how much it was going to make her want to drink. She knew recently she’d been escaping into beer or whiskey more than she probably should to escape nightmares from her memories of the breach, the fade, and everything else. She should probably take Dorian up on his offer to try and brew something for her. She’d even considered asking Cole to mess with her memories to drive some of the pain away.

 

Not that she would ever admit all of that openly. She had a reputation and image to maintain these days. Dorian and Bull were the only ones who knew how badly the nightmares had been getting to her over the past several weeks.

 

“Wish I could escape into a book or a lover so easily,” she murmured to herself as she stared at the forest beyond the camp.

 

She wasn’t sure how long she stood there before she heard a commotion near the entrance to the camp. She turned, and looked vaguely surprised to see two Inquisition agents, a dwarf between them, entering the camp. Leliana must have sent some additional agents given the possible instability of the area, she thought.

 

But the dwarf between the agents quickly stole all her attention.

 

“Varric!” She could not manage to keep the excitement out of her voice as she dashed across camp and came to stand before the golden haired, golden eyed dwarf. “Decided to join us, eh? Kirkwall slow this time of year?”

 

Varric laughed and gave her a familiar clap on the shoulder. “Hey, you were the one who promised an interesting story out of all of this, Cadash, and I need some new material.”

 

Cadash, not Inquisitor. It made her grin widen. “Well, you’re a welcome sight, my friend. Come on, let’s get a tent set up for you.”

 

This trip was suddenly looking up.


	9. Dead Dragons and Live Inquisitors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hakkon is dead, but Cadash finds herself disturbed by the fate of the original Inquisitor. Varric is around to talk her out of her mood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a Friendly Drink.  
> Dragon Age Inquisition Fan Fiction  
> Female Cadash Inquisitor  
> Note: I do not own DA or any of the characters or setting, those belong to Bioware, I am merely borrowing them for entertainment purposes.

“A dragon...another sodding dragon,” Cadash muttered as they considered the corpse that had once held Hakkon. She sighed and crossed the distance between her and Cassandra to check on the Seeker. She was fairly certain from this distance she could see bloody rents in Cassandra's armor and she hoped her friend wasn't seriously injured.

“Dorian, get over here,” she called over her shoulder as she reached Cassandra. The Seeker groaned softly as she let herself kneel on the ground, shifting her arm painfully as she finally let her shield drop to the ground, where it clattered like a plate for a moment. “Cassandra, lets get that armor off you so Dorian can have a look.”

“I'm fine, Cadash,” Cassandra said instinctively, but she let the dwarven female undo the straps of her breast plate and let the two pieces separate. Cadash placed the two pieces on the ground and eyed the claw marks in the armor. 

“Looks like the claws didn't make it through the metal at least,” Cadash said, her gaze clinical. “But I'm guessing you have a fair amount of bruising.

“And a nasty scratch on your left leg,” Dorian said as he reached the warrior's side. He sighed and pulled out one of the jars of healing salve. “At least this will both treat the wound and clean it,” he murmured as he attended Cassandra's leg first. Without him asking Cassandra shifted to sit on her bottom on the ground and stretched out her leg so he could take a look.

Cadash thought they'd all come a long way from when they'd met Dorian in Redcliff. Cassandra didn't look at the Vint mage with disdain anymore. The relationships between her companions in the Inquisition had definitely changed over time.

“Hmm, you'll need a few days rest I think before you're really ready to travel, once we get back to camp,” Dorian told the Seeker as he helped her back to her feet. He glanced towards the Iron Bull. “Do be a dear and help our Seeker out, will you?”

She let Dorian and Bull get Cassandra back to camp, leaving Cadash to stand over the corpse of the dragon. She was unsurprised to see Scout Harding appear, and the two of them discussed downing the dragon, briefly.

Later she was left watching the Inquisition scouts harvesting dragon scales and making what they could of the body. There was no sense in letting something like this go to waste.

She felt more than a little detached from the whole sodding thing.

They had found out the fate of the original Inquisitor..a mage locked in the fade, keeping the god Hakkon at bay for 800 years, his lover dying trying to reach him in dreams.

Before the anchor, Cadash had never dreamed, had never thought about the Fade. Now it seemed she could not escape it.

They had finished the original Inquisitor's work. He had given everything to protect the world.

Would that be her fate as well, she wondered? The Inquisition had already consumed her old life. There would be no returning to the Carta after all of this. They still had a few rifts to clean up, but then what?

“You just can't make this shit up,” Varric's voice sounded in her ear. 

Cadash turned to find the other dwarf watching her a few feet away from where she stood near the dragon's remains.

“Everyone else came back to camp but the scouts. Wondered where you'd gone off to,” Varric said conversationally as he stepped up beside her. He tilted her head. “I know that look on you. What are you thinking?”

“Inquisitor Ameridan gave everything, Varric...down to losing the woman he loved and locking himself away in the sodding Fade to stop Hakkon,” Cadash said, her voice barely more than a whisper. “His work is done, and he's finally been released. I wonder sometimes if my fate is going to be something similar. All I've done since I got this mark is run around trying to save the world. The one relationship I tried went down in flames. Sometimes I wonder how much I can give.”

Varric frowned at her tone. He'd heard it before, from Hawke, though Hawke was working on finding a life now that Corypheus was gone. Hawke had spent years trying to clean up Anders' mess, but he'd actually seen her smile at Skyhold...smile around a certain Inquisition Commander they all knew and liked.

If Hawke could start finding some happiness, why not the Inquisitor?

“I certainly hope not,” Varric said with more lightness than he felt though. “For one, you aren't a mage, you're a dwarf, so you definitely don't belong in the Fade.”

“I don't...but I've been in the Fade, more than once. And I dream, Varric.” She held up her left hand, and slowly removed the glove. He noticed under the leather that the green still spiderwebbed over her palm and up her fingers.

“I've dreamed ever since I got this.”

“That's weird as shit,” Varric muttered, not entirely sure what else to say.

“Tell me about it,” Cadash replied with some of her old mirth.

“Come on, Bright Eyes, lets go back to camp and get you something warm to drink,” Varric said at last. “You deserve a rest after bringing down another dragon. Oh and Cassandra will be fine, in case you wondered.”

“She was still on her feet and had Dorian and Bull with her, I knew she'd be fine,” Cadash snorted.

She moved off towards camp, and Varric kept to her side as they walked across the half frozen ground. They walked in silence for a few minutes, before Cadash looked curiously, almost shyly, over at Varric. “Soo...you going back to Kirkwall after this?”

“I'll have to soon enough,” Varric replied. “But I think I can put it off for another month or two. There was a lot of work that piled up while I was gone though.” He shook his head. “I think the town would fall apart without Aveline and Donnic,” he said thoughtfully. “And you still have to come and visit me sometime.”

“I mean to,” Cadash replied. “But then something else comes up that I have to deal with as Inquisitor.”

“Well, if you ever decide to retire, come to Kirkwall,” Varric said. “And if you can convince a certain Commander to come with you, I know a Bird that would be very happy about it.” He sighed. “Though I don't know how much Curly would want to come back.”

“He's in love with her,” Cadash said. “I think if he didn't have his duty here, he'd go just about anywhere for her....even Kirkwall, bad memories and all.”

“Then again, she might convince him to go elsewhere,” Varric mused. “But I'd like to see you in Kirkwall at least, Bright Eyes.”

Cadash pulled up short and looked at him seriously with her hazel orbs. “Bright Eyes? Is that my nickname now, Varric?”

“Works just as well as anything else, doesn't it?” he asked, looking innocently at her and failing.

“How's Bianca?” Cadash asked suddenly, and wanted to take the words back when she saw Varric's expression close a bit. 

He surprised her with his answer. “She's working on some new invention, so my sources tell me. I haven't had much contact with her since I finished working for the Inquisition.” He shrugged. “After what happened, well, lets just say she and I aren't as close as we used to be.”

Cadash took a step closer, saw his golden eyes meeting her own as she spoke. “Is it horrible of me to say I'm not sorry about that?” she asked softly.

“Maybe it isn't considered very nice...but no, I don't think its entirely horrible,” Varric replied. “I've spent years cleaning up Bianca's messes. I'm getting a little tired of cleaning them up.”

“If you ever decide you're done cleaning up her messes...you know where to find me,” Cadash said, surprising herself now. She suspected she might have admitted her feelings for him one night when she was drunk, but she hadn't ever actually said anything sober before.

“Yeah...I'll remember that,” Varric replied, his expression thoughtful. He threw an arm around her shoulder then, an arm of a friend. “Come on, Bright Eyes, lets go get shit faced. I think you've earned it.”

“They have alcohol in camp?” she asked, disbelieving.

“I had some sent in. Good whiskey,” he replied with a grin. “Come on.”

Cadash let him lead her back to camp, deciding that for now, this possibility was enough.


	10. Glowing Dwarves and Hands

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sofia Cadash deals with the aftermath of the Titan, and reflects on a growing problem.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a Friendly Drink.  
> Dragon Age Inquisition Fan Fiction  
> Female Cadash Inquisitor  
> Note: I do not own DA or any of the characters or setting, those belong to Bioware, I am merely borrowing them for entertainment purposes.

Long past midnight, Inquisitor Cadash lay on her bedroll, staring at the top of her tent. If she never had to deal with Orzammar again, it would be too soon. She and Inquisition forces had spent the past several days investigating the frequent earthquakes along the Storm Coast, and the danger it posed to everyone.

She had to admit she'd actually liked Valta, and Renn had been good company. The two dwarves hadn't displayed the usual complete distane for her that most Orzammar dwarves did since she came from an exiled surface clan. Valta actually managed to provide at least a little information on why Cadash had been exiled.

“Cadash was feared before they joined the Carta,” she'd said.

Orzammar politics aside, the whole mess they'd just dealt with gave Cadash a headache. They'd been inside a sodding Titan, and that Titan had altered other dwarves into Sha-Brytol to guard it. Even odder was that Valta was evidently now connected to the Titan, and in the beginning stages of becoming a Sha-Brytol, or something even more, herself. 

Titans were fascinating, to be sure, and she'd heard Vivienne discussing the possibility with Cassandra and what it might mean for the rest of the world.

When she'd first put out the call to her old associates who'd left the Inquisition for this trip, Vivienne was the last person she'd expected to appear at Skyhold's doorstep, but the Grand Enchanter of the new Circle of Magi evidently warranted an old friend's call enough to draw her away from her work. As Dorian was in Tevinter currently, Cadash had welcomed the prickly woman's assistance. 

Despite their differences she did get along with Vivienne. Unlike Solas, Vivienne's goals had never been hidden. Vivienne had joined the Inquisition for the opportunity of connections and power. She was a social and political climber and she'd told Cadash that from the beginning. While her attitude could be grating, she'd at least been honest about her goals.

Vivienne was evidently quite curious about Valta's display of magic against them the day before, and what it might mean about the Sha-Brytol and dwarves in general.

Cadash was quite happy to leave that investigation to Vivienne. She wanted nothing more to do with the underground if she could avoid it. She hated going underground, she always had. The sense of tunnels and rock closing in on you was unnerving at best.

She sighed and sat up, knowing she wasn't going to get to sleep any time soon. Instead, she reached in her pack and dug out a simple piece of folded parchment. She unfolded it and read over the words she'd received a few weeks before at Skyhold.

One of her rather distant cousins had appeared at the entrance to Skyhold weeks advising they had a message for the Inquisitior. Her cousin had stayed long enough to deliver the message, get a decent meal, and hadn't even waited the night out before leaving Skyhold again.

That alone told her most of what she needed to know.

The message, scrawled in her brother's quick, messy hand, had been simple. 

_You are Cadash. You are my sister. But you are no longer Carta. Old enemies may leave you be, but new enemies may surface. This is all the warning I may give you. - Aeton_

So her family wasn't completely abandoning her, and she wasn't being disowned by the Clan, but they were letting her know that the Carta no longer considered her one of their own. It brought both good and bad with it. It meant that rival Carta clans may no longer see her as a threat. But it also meant that some of those with beef against the Carta might view her as open season since she no longer had the veil of Carta backing protecting her.

She snorted as she thought of the Inquisition soldiers and scouts around her...and even if the Inquisition itself vanished, she still had a number of friends she knew now she could turn to help for if she really feared she couldn't protect her own hide.

Even if she was free of Carta politics, she was still embroiled in surface issues. Corypheus's defeat had been a bit over a year and a half ago, and rifts they'd found were now sealed. While there were still some lingering issues the Inquisition was dealing with, there were rumblings of concern among nobles in Orlias and Fereldan. 

The Inquisition was a large, and powerful force, both socially, militarily, and politically. People wondered what threat it might be to the countries here in the south. Saving the damned world wasn't enough to make people want to leave you alone. Now that Corypheus was gone, everyone either wanted to destroy or control the Inquisition.

Cadash knew it was all coming to a head, and it just gave her another headache.

She felt a familiar ache in her left hand. Slowly she turned and removed the glove that she always wore now unless she was alone. Removing the leather revealed the spiderweb cracks of pale green embedded in darker, emerald green. 

Sofia couldn't even see the color of her own flesh anymore on her hand. The pain came and went, but the intensity of it increased. She'd become accustom to ignoring most of her own pain because of her sodding hand. She knew something was wrong, and she knew the mark was getting worse.

Something about the Titan and the odd magic of the Sha-Brytol had exacerbated it. She suspected something about the Mark might be lyrium based, or something even more primal, but she wasn't certain. Whatever it was based in, it infected her flesh like a plague.

And the one person who'd actually been able to help her with the stupid thing had been missing for one year, seven months, and 13 days, give or take. She kept track of Solas's absence even more than she'd kept track of the days separating her and Varric, because Solas's absence could be measured by the steady progression of green investing her hand, and pain going from a dull ache to a the feeling that her blood was on fire.

That, and no matter how much she loved Varric, and no matter how fond of her he might seem, there was still a gulf between them, a gulf she was willing to bet was still named Bianca...not the crossbow.

Varric hadn't been able to come on this expedition. He was evidently heavily embroiled in something in Kirkwall right now. He'd sent a letter with his regrets. The tone of the letter had been very precise and careful, not the easy going tone she remembered, and she wondered why.

Just as well, perhaps. She was going to have to admit this weakness to her advisors, and see what Leliana and perhaps Vivienne could discover about the danger it posed to her...Solas hadn't stuck around to find a way to stop it, all he'd done, Cadash realized, was delay the inevitable.  
She took a deep breath and fell back onto the bedroll, holding her glowing hand up in the pale firelight that filtered into the tent. She knew now it was beginning to spread, like red lyrium spread through its victims.

And if she didn't find a way to banish it, the mark would kill her.


	11. Summons from the Divine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Inquisition, including its former members, receive the summons from the Divine calling them to the Exalted Council. Reactions are mixed, but everyone prepares for the inevitable.  
> Some former members of the Inquisition, particularly a roguish dwarf, consider their reunions with their former comrades. 
> 
> And sorry Bianca fans - she is an interesting character, but for obvious reasons I do not ship her with Varric in this fic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a Friendly Drink.  
> Dragon Age Inquisition Fan Fiction  
> Female Cadash Inquisitor  
> Note: I do not own DA or any of the characters or setting, those belong to Bioware, I am merely borrowing them for entertainment purposes.

The summons to Val Royale came two years, one week, and three days to the day the Inquisition had defeated Corypheus. She stood stony faced in the war room with Cassandra, Cullen, and Josephine as Josephine read aloud first the official letter from the Divine, and then the personal letter from Leliana.

It became evident from the tone of the second letter that Leliana had hated sending the first. Leliana the Spy Master, as a founding member of the Inquisition and a full supporter of it, hated the intrusion of other power in Inquisition business. But Leliana as Divine Victoria had a much finer line she had to walk politically.

Cadash stood with her left hand resting behind her back near her waist, wearing a long, elbow length glove over the glowing mass of her hand. She wore a similar glove, though this one fingerless, on her right hand to help ally any suspicions her companions might have. She hadn’t told any of them how bad the Mark had gotten, they had bigger worries.

Her hazel eyes moved from face to face: Josephine’s worried frown, Cassandra’s look of indignation, and Cullen’s annoyed and concerned golden eyes.

“Many are calling for our disbanding,” Josephine murmured as she set both letter on the war table. Warm afternoon sun drifted through the windows, belying the tense atmosphere. 

“Fereldan and Orlais were perfectly willing to leave us alone when we were the only thing managing to keep them alive, but now that we may be any sort of threat to power..” Cassandra’s words broke off in an annoyed growl. 

“Kings and Empresses wanting to play games, particularly Empresses, when we are the only reasons she is alive and still in power,” Cullen echoed Cassandra.

“They are worried of the threat we may pose to their borders, even if we pose one,” Josephine tried to be diplomatic. “People who wish to rebel against the crowns may try and involve us..”

The room erupted in shouting, reminding Cadash very much of a moment in a snowy camp, what seemed like an eternity ago, after she’d staggered out of the dark and cold after the battle of Haven. She could almost hear Mother Giselle telling her that they argued out of fear.

“Enough,” Cadash said firmly as the arguing after a few minutes. The three fell silent instantly, surprised looks turning towards her at her firm tone.

“We knew this was coming,” Sofia Cadash continued, making sure to meet the eyes of each of her remaining advisors. “Leliana has done what she could to stave it off. This Exalted Council presents both a danger and an opportunity. We are arguing for our future. I may hate politics, and our purpose has never been politics,” she nodded to Cassandra and Cullen. “But Josephine is right that with as large as we are, we are forced to play politics. So let’s go to this sodding council and see what they have to say. Right now all we have to go on are rumors and an outright demand for us to disband. Even if the Inquisition were to end, we couldn’t just disband overnight. Let’s go and see what they have to say, and figure out how to turn their words to our advantage.”

She sighed. “We’ve been at this for over two years…we may want to give our futures over to running the Inquisition for the rest of our lives, or we may want something entirely different. It isn’t anything we’ve actually ever discussed, the future of the Inquisition. We’ve been so busy just doing we haven’t decided anything beyond the present.”

She glanced at Josephine. “Josephine, arrange for proper pageantry. I want to impress them. We had a saying in my clan. Sometimes you can’t go in the back door, and you have to dress up to make it beyond the front door. Cullen, arrange for the proper escort of troops. Again, let’s be impressive. We’ve paraded troops for Banns and Dukes; we can do it for Exalted Councils. Cassandra, see what you can have our archivists find. The original Inquisitor vanished into the Fade to guard the world against an ancient god. He vanished protecting the world. I, however, am not going to just conveniently vanish, so we have to see what prescient is and how we can exploit it to our advantage. The original Inquisition became the Seekers of Truth…what can we do to avoid their pitfalls and learn from their successes?”

Josephine’s worried frown turned into a faint smile. “Very good, Inquisitor. You’re more prepared for this than you give yourself credit for.”

Cadash shrugged. “I only do what I have to, Josephine. Nothing more, nothing less.” She resisted the urge to rub at her left arm. “If that is all, I am going to go pack.”

Cassandra was the one who followed her from the room, walking alongside Cadash in silence for a few moments before she asked. “What’s troubling you?”

Cadash paused and looked up at the woman who had become one of her best friends and weighed her options. “Just a bit worn out from everything,” Sofia replied at last. “It seems like once we get one thing accomplished, something else pops up. Killing Corypheus didn’t end that.”

Cassandra regarded her, noting the dark circles beneath Cadash’s eyes and a certain weariness about the mouth. When was the last time Cadash had truly relaxed, she thought. Cadash hadn’t join the soldiers and others at Heralds Rest in the past few months nearly as much as she used to. Even when the Chargers were here, she’d come in and drink a round or two with them before vanishing again, and not always to her room.

“You are sure that is all, Sofia?” Cassandra asked, using the dwarf’s proper name.

Sofia gave her an enigmatic smile. “I’m sure, Cassandra. Thank you for asking though.” The smile widened slightly. “They are asking for the full Inquisition to come, including those who aren’t currently here. Perhaps we can convince Varric to write you another volume of Swords and Shields.”

Cassandra chuckled at the thought. “I would enjoy that, though I don’t know that Varric would,” she replied. She watched Cadash continue off then, heading towards her quarters. 

Cassandra made a mental note to talk to Cole. While the boy still disturbed her occasionally, he’d proven himself a valuable and loyal ally over the past few years, and she found she trusted him. It also seemed impossible for Cole to lie to her, which helped with the trust. If anyone could really discern what was bothering Cadash, he would know. There was more than just weariness under that gaze, and it worried Cassandra to see her friend in such a state.

~~  
“You cannot possibly think of going now!” Seneschal Bran protested as Varric piled clothing on his bed and sorted through what he would need to take to Val Royale. “There are nobles you must meet with and other business to attend to here in Kirkwall.

Not for the first time Varric regretted allowing the citizens of Kirkwall, particularly their dear Captain of the Guard Aveline, to press him into becoming the Viscount of Kirkwall. He was a businessman, not a politician. But in the past ten months, Kirkwall had been more stable than the prior few years combined. Running a city was a lot like running a business, just on a grander scale.

“Have you ever met Divine Victoria?” Varric asked Bran in an amused tone. “You do not deny the summons of Divine Victoria if you want to continue living comfortably. The woman is quite formidable. And I believe the esteemed citizens of Kirkwall would be most put out if I did not pay my proper respects to the Divine and the Chantry, given Kirkwall’s more recent history. The new Chantry only recently finished rebuilding in the past year. It will do them and our allies good to see Kirkwall’s ruler paying respects.”

Varric knew everything he’d just said except for the part about not crossing Leliana was a load of sodding bull, but it was the kind of talk that made Bran happy, and would probably make the general popular of Kirkwall happy. While the new Divine wasn’t popular with everyone, given her attitude towards mages and Kirkwall’s history, but she was still the Divine.

He also wasn’t going to tell Bran the real reason he wanted to go was to see the Inquisitor.

The past year had been rather eye opening for Varric. He’d known that Sofia Cadash was in love with him for awhile, and she’d confirmed it again the last time he had actually seen her a year ago. She’d also asked him point blank about Bianca and told him if he ever moved on to talk to her.

It had gotten him thinking on whether he’d truly moved on from Bianca or not. He hadn’t dealt much with Bianca since the end of the Inquisition, nor had he really seen her since the mess with the red lyrium, beyond an occasional scrawled note. He’d gone out of his way to continue any of their usual correspondence and Bianca hadn’t seemed to mind.

The fact that Bianca only really ever contacted him when she wanted something had smacked him rather rudely in the face seven months ago, only a few months after he’d assumed the Viscount’s throne. She’d evidently had some dispute regarding a contraption of hers with the dwarven smith clan here in Kirkwall. 

Any normal dwarf who wanted something adjudicated by the Viscount would have appeared for an audience or submitted their complaint through his office.

Bianca had shown up in his room late one night. He’d been enjoying a drink with Aveline and Donnic, celebrating the couple’s anniversary actually, and then returned to his rooms in the Viscount’s palace. When he’d flicked on the light, Bianca had been sitting on his bed and smiling at him with that smile he recalled seeing whenever he gave her something.

Rather than being turned on by the sight that even four years ago would have made him happy, at least for the moment, consequences be damned, he’d been annoyed. If Sofia Cadash had slipped into his room and surprised him, he’d have greeted her a great deal differently than he’d greeted Bianca.

“What do you want?” he’d demanded, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Why Varric, is that any way to greet someone so happy to see you?” Bianca had asked, her voice going coy. 

Somewhere, long ago, he’d know Bianca had really cared for him, and if they could ever get beyond the mess that caused so many issues when they did see each other, a friendship might be possible….but right in that moment, he’d known she wanted something, and she was prepared to seduce it out of him.

Sofia once told him while she might use flattery, bribery, threats, and even violence to get something done, seduction just wasn’t her thing. If she bedded someone, it would be because she truly wanted them, not something from them.

“If you need something, you could have just dropped by and asked to have dinner, or submitted a request through my office,” Varric replied. “Not ambush me in my bedroom. Go back to your inn and come back in the morning, Bianca.”

Bianca had been less than pleased, though eventually she had submitted her request in the more ordinary way, after two evenings of trying to catch him in an unofficial capacity and have him agree to her side of things.

“Go back to your husband, Bianca, if this isn’t official business,” Varric finally told her wearily. “We had something, once, but we don’t anymore. We can do business as old friends, you can submit your disagreements for judgement the way everyone else does, but we will not sleep together again, ever. And I’m not going to give you something just because you ask me to.”

He hadn’t heard from her since, and he rather expected he wouldn’t. He had, though, gotten a cryptic note from some anonymous dwarf thanking him for putting things into blunt terms for a certain female dwarf they were both familiar with. His sources said it had come from Bianca’s household, though not specifically from who.

He knew who he wanted now, and that he was willing to explore what might possibly be between them, and he had a plan for the future.

“Very well,” Bran said after several long moments of silence in a voice of great suffering. “I will alert your guard so that we can prepare you for travel. The Viscount of Kirkwall cannot go unaccompanied.”

Once Bran was gone, Varric’s smile widened even more. While he wasn’t looking forward to this business of an Exalted Council, he was very much looking forward to seeing Inquisitor Sofia Cadash.


	12. Val Royale

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Inquisition arrives in Val Royale. Cadash finds she can't keep her secret from some people, has an encounter with her old lover, and Varric finally shows up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a Friendly Drink.  
> Dragon Age Inquisition Fan Fiction  
> Female Cadash Inquisitor  
> Note: I do not own DA or any of the characters or setting, those belong to Bioware, I am merely borrowing them for entertainment purposes.

There’d been a fair amount of gawkers when the Inquisition had first entered Val Royale, just as Josephine had predicted. So Cadash put on a show, because it was expected. She hated Orlaisian politics and the Game in general, but since she had fixed the hole in the sky and spent the past two years trying to clean up everyone else’s mess, the last thing she wanted to do was star a war with Orlais and Fereldan. 

Days like this she missed the Free Marches and the fierce independence of each city state there. Fereldan had suffered under Orlaisian rule for years, and the last thing Fereldan wanted was to let Orlais get any power over them again. Fereldan saw the Inquisition as possibly an Orlaisian plot, Orlais thought the opposite, and it was a headache for everyone.

Maybe she should just disband the Inquisition and let people get on with their lives, she thought darkly as she sat with Bull at a bar, listening to him and the Chargers advise her of their most recent mission. 

The problem was there were a number of people whose lives were tied up in the Inquisition. They had soldiers, scouts, even farms who helped support their forces. Making a decision to disband the organization would affect a lot more lives than just her own.

She took another sip of her ale and internally sighed. If it were just her, or even just the inner circle to consider, she would do it in a heart beat. She was tired of dealing with people’s stupid squabbles. But it wasn’t just her life or the lives of the inner circle, and that weighed heavily on her.

Did they even have a good reason to continue as they were? The Inquisition had spent the past five months just mopping up other people’s problems…why couldn’t someone else do it?

A flare up her left arm broke her thoughts and she turned her head to keep Bull from seeing her wince of pain. The green glow and spider web cracks were spreading. They’d gone beyond the wrist now, on a slow steady creep towards her elbow. The pale peach of her flesh was vanishing beneath a plague of emerald green. There wasn’t a moment now that her hand and lower arm didn’t hurt. It usually remained a slow, steady ache, but flares of a sharper burn would burst through her flesh and veins, enough that she had to shift her grip on her bow when they were in battle.

Turning her head wasn’t enough though, and she heard The Iron Bull’s voice rumble in her ear. “What’s wrong, Boss?”

She forced herself to meet his gaze, and for a moment he swore he saw emerald green flash in her hazel eyes, and he frowned at her, his eyes flickering towards her hand.

“What’s it doing?” he asked, concern lacing his tone.

She gritted her teeth. She wanted desperately to confide in someone, for someone to understand what was happening to her…her advisors and even Cassandra had so much more to worry about though, and..

“Get Dorian, meet me in your quarters in half an hour,” Cadash replied after a long moment of silence. Dorian, who knew of blood magic and would consider ideas that Vivienne would abhor…he and Bull she could trust with this secret, for now. After this sodding Exalted Council was over, then she would tell the rest of her circle, but for now, just Dorian and Bull.

Half an hour later she stood in the quarters that Bull and Dorian were currently sharing, her gloved hands clasped behind her back as she considered two of her closest friends. 

“Bull said this was urgent, so tell us, Sofia, what has been bothering you,” Dorian said as he regarded her with an appraising eye and in a tone that brooked no argument.

Cadash clenched her right fist and then pulled her hands out from behind her back, showing both gloved palms to her friends. She noted Bull hadn’t said anything, but she could still see the concern from earlier in his eyes. She began pulling the glove off her left hand slowly, revealing the still peachy elbow, then further down, just a few inches above her wrist and not quite to the middle of her forearm yet, the patchy spider webs of pale and emerald green that covered her arm, the smallest hints of her actual flesh peeking through the web here and there; then, finally, she revealed her green hand, the entire wrist and palm enveloped in the green of the Mark.

She flexed her hand, grimacing at the pain that shot up to her elbow, then looked back at Dorian and Bull.

Bull’s gaze had darkened and Dorian was swearing in Tevinter. 

“How long has it been like this?” Dorian demanded.

“It started a year ago,” Cadash replied in a hollow tone. “It was so slow at first I didn’t realize; a gradual creep of green spreading through my palm. Then the pain started: the occasional dull ache, and then progressing to flashes and stabs of pain up my arm. The mark completely overtook my hand about three months ago, give or take a few weeks, then started moving up my arm.”

“And you haven’t bothered to share this with any of us?” Dorian looked torn between anger and worry. “Why not, Sofia? Why hide this?”

“Too much going on,” she replied wearily, sinking down onto a stool. “What were we going to do about it, Dorian? We’ve never been able to remove it, and Solas was the only one who ever really managed to halt the sodding thing. There was that mess with the Titan, and then little things that needed to be cleaned up. I couldn’t exactly say ‘Hey my hand is slowly killing me, I need to take a break,’ could it?”

“You most certainly could,” Bull rumbled. “Damn Boss, are you really that thick headed. You don’t have to fix everything.”

“Sure seems that way some days,” Sofia sighed. 

“What do you mean, it’s killing you?” Dorian asked, his eyes narrowing as he stepped forward and seized her hand, frown deepening as she hissed in pain.

“It did this when I first got the Mark, but at a much faster rate,” Sofia explained. “Solas contained it and kept it from killing me. Eventually the Mark will spread, and it will consume me, Dorian. Solas told me what would have happened if he hadn’t stopped the Mark to begin with.”

“And of course our dear elf is no where to be seen,” Dorian said acidly. “You put too much faith in him, Sofia.”

“Maybe, but I don’t know what else to do,” she snapped, pain making her short tempered.

“We get Vivienne,” Dorian said firmly, “And she and I examine it to see what we can do. Perhaps Cassandra can-“

“NO!” Sofia launched off the stool. “We are not telling anyone else? Vivienne I will give you, but I am NOT bringing anyone else into this mess right now, not while the Exalted Council is going on! I will tell them, when this is over.”

Bull grunted is disapproval and Dorian tried to argue her around, but she wouldn’t be swayed. Finally the two men agreed they would not bring it up with anyone but her and Vivienne. Sofia knew Vivienne wouldn’t let it slip either. The Grand Enchanter knew exactly how much of a political liability this secret could be right now, and she would agree to keep such a thing hidden unless absolutely necessary.

The next day was spent in endless hours with Leliana peppering Sofia, Cullen, Josephine, and Cassandra with questions before the actual Council converged. The obtuseness of all of it made Sofia even more foul tempered than the pain in her hand, and unless she was with her friends, she took to maintaining a Wicked Grace face that even Leliana was having trouble reading.

Blackwall showed up that evening, evidently with the grudging permission of the Wardens. Sofia hadn’t seen him in almost two years, and when she was advised by a servant that Warden Blackwall wished to speak with her in the gardens, she had no idea what to expect.

He was in armor, as always, when she entered the corner of the garden he waited in, looking much the same as he had two years before. They’d exchanged exactly two letters in the past two years, both of them fairly superficial and covering general pleasantries. 

He actually smiled when he saw her, an uncertain smile, but a smile nonetheless.

“Inquisitior,” Blackwall greeted her. He used her title, not her name, and it made her feel a tad bit better for some reason.

“Warden Blackwall…or is it Thom Rainier now?” she greeted him. “You’re looking well.”

“Thom,” he replied. “The Wardens haven’t exactly approved of me using a dead man’s name.” He offered her a hand, and she took it in her right, shaking it. Reading the faint tension in the air, she forced her shoulders to relax.

“Friends?” she asked as her hand dropped back to her side.

“I hope so,” Thom replied. “I think I’ve finally found the right direction of things. Have you?”

She shrugged. “Don’t know yet, honestly. Depends on if we disband the Inquisition or not.”

His expression turned thoughtful. “Well you could, since your purpose is fulfilled, but that leaves a lot of people in limbo. Or you could find a new purpose.”

“That’s it, more or less,” Sofia felt a smile crack her lips. Thom got it, Thom understood her biggest concern about how her decision would affect everyone else’s lives. “I’m really not sure which we can go with, and it shouldn’t be a decision just one person makes…but this Council…they seem to believe that they can deliberate and then order us to do whatever they decide and we must abide by it.”

Thom snorted. “They really don’t know you, do they, Inquisitor?” he shook his head. “No…somehow I think you’ll be the final say in all of this, whether you want to be or not.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” she sighed. “Come on, go get an ale with me?”

He gave her a surer, genuine smile. “Of course.” 

They could be old friends having a drink with each other, and nothing more, and it made them both feel better about the situation.

~~  
Varric muttered as he stepped off the ship from Kirkwall. The journey to Val Royale had taken a few more days than he’d liked because of a storm at sea, but he was finally here, probably days after everyone else. Bran was on his heels, barely keeping up, and two of the Viscount’s Guards following. Varric had kept the entourage to an absolutely minimum, but evidently as a ruler of a city, Bran insisted he had to take at least Bran himself and one or two guards. 

At least he knew the city was in good hands under Aveline and Donnic for the moment.

He almost tore through the city in an effort to get to the Winter Palace where the Council was being held. A firm question to an Orlaisan guard, whose expression he thankfully couldn’t see, pointed in to where the Inquisition was staying.

He found who he was looking for at a small tavern, sharing a mug of ale with, surprisingly, Warden Thom Rainier. His brow creased when he saw the friendly expression on Inquisitor Sofia Cadash’s face as she spoke to her former lover. He watched them for a few moments, then felt a tension leak out of him as he realized there was absolutely nothing romantic about the way they were looking at each other.

Was he really that nervous about where he stood with Sofia?

“Inquisitor, thanks for inviting us all to the party,” Varric found himself saying as he stepped forward, trying to fall back on his normally silver tongue. 

Sofia glanced over her shoulder, and he saw a smile crinkle around her eyes as she gestured for him to join them. “Varric! You’re here just in time. Drink with us?”

“I’ll have one if you’re buying,” he laughed and stomped up to take a stool beside the Inquistior.

He really wanted to speak with her alone, but she and Thom Rainier had evidently been deep in conversation when he’d arrived.

“So you see my issue,” she said as she glanced back at Thom a moment. “I have common soldiers and scouts, even farmers and families, depending on the Inquisition for their livelihoods. I can’t just suddenly close up shop. I know there’s all things the Inner Circle would like to do…Cassandra can rebuilt the Seekers, Josephine has her family, Cullen wants to see Hawke again, Dorian and Bull are working an arrangement between the two of them. Me though? I’m all left at lose ends in the time I ha-“

She broke her words off suddenly as she realized what she was about to say. She smiled over the words, deciding to pretend she hadn’t uttered them, but Varric saw Bull and Dorian, sitting a table away, exchange a glance as if they knew exactly what she’d been about to say

“Well, I’d be all at lose ends,” Sofia said. “Certainly can’t go back to the Carta after all of this.”

“There’s always Kirkwall,” Varric replied with a grin. “I’ve even got some ideas for that and your head for negotiations. Maybe after drinks you and I can discuss possibilities.”

Sofia lifted her brows and gazed at Varric, her eyes dancing with curiosity. “If you want,” she agreed.

Thom lifted a brow as well, but he didn’t way a word about it as he took another sip of his ale, and launched into questions for Varric on how Kirkwall was fairing.


	13. Heart In My Eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Varric and Sofia finally have a heart to heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a Friendly Drink.  
> Dragon Age Inquisition Fan Fiction  
> Female Cadash Inquisitor  
> Note: I do not own DA or any of the characters or setting, those belong to Bioware, I am merely borrowing them for entertainment purposes.

“Comtesse, Varric, are you serious?” Cadash asked as she and Varric sat in the generally well appointed sitting area in the room that Cadash had been granted by the Empress of Orlais for use during the Exalted Council.

“Why not?” Varric said with a shrug. “Oh sure, Bran’s not very pleased about it, but if you do decide to disband the Inquisition, it gives you a place to go and a title. With all the work you’ve done in this world, you deserve something for your troubles.” He grinned. “Besides, it gets you to stay in Kirkwall.”

He was laughing, but his heart was pounding, wondering what she really thought of the idea of coming to Kirkwall and staying there. He knew he wanted her there, but he didn’t know how she felt about the idea.

“And what does Bianca think of the idea of me living in Kirkwall?” Sofia asked pointedly. 

“My crossbow?” he asked in a lighthearted tone. “I don’t think she’d mine.”

Sofia smacked him on the shoulder. “Not what I meant, Varric.”

He swore he could hear his heart pounding in his ears as he looked at her, gaze growing serious. “There’s nothing left there, Sofia. I promise. I’ve told Bianca in no uncertain terms there is nothing left between us, and there never will be again.” He reached out and took Sofia’s hand in his own, feeling a thrill that he was actually allowing himself to do this, and give into the feelings that had haunted him for so long. “There’s no one else, Sofia.”

The flush of joy in her expression would stay with him for the rest of his life. She gripped his hand in her own and shifted on the bench they sat on, her thigh pressing against his as she caught his chin with her hand and turned his face towards her, tentatively leaning forward to kiss him.

Just as carefully, Varric let his lips brush against hers, feeling warmth spread through him as he shifted an arm to wrap it around her waist. Somehow, she ended up in his lap, and the kiss deepened, her arms wrapping tightly around his shoulders until they both had to come up for air.

Both their cheeks were flushed as she pulled her head back from his, a slightly dazed look in her eyes as she considered the golden eyed dwarf who held her. “I’ve wanted to do that for so long, Varric,” she breathed. She reached up and trailed a finger along his strong jaw. “I love you, Varric. You leaving the Inquisition didn’t stop that.”

“I love you too,” he said slowly, watching those hazel eyes widen just a fraction as she finally heard the words she’d wanted to hear for an eternity. “Look long enough for me to really realize it, and longer for me to be willing to admit it. Like Hawke, you’ve seen me at my best and my worst, but while Hawke’s like family, you’re quite a bit more than that.” 

He shifted her in his lap until they were both a bit more comfortable. “Whether you stay in the Inquisition and we have to visit each other, or you come to Kirkwall, I want to take a chance at a future. Two years of wondering is long enough.”

When he mentioned the future, the joy in her eyes dimmed and Sofia drew a shaky breath, going back to her conversations with Dorian, Vivienne, and Bull just earlier that day.

“There’s something you need to see Varric,” she said quietly. Before she could lose her nerve, she pulled the glove off her left hand, revealing the shining green, now a few more millimeters up her arm than it had been a few days before. 

Varric’s expression turned concerned and vaguely horrified as he stared at the green flesh. “The Mark?” he asked.

Sofia nodded grimly. “It’s been spreading for the past few months. Vivienne and Dorian are researching a way to stop it, but we don’t know if they can. If we can’t stop it from spreading….well, you remember what Red Lyrium does.”

He shook his head slowly, his heart clenching at the thought of that being her fate. “What if we take the arm off?” he asked.

Sofia frowned. “I don’t know, honestly,” she said. “It isn’t something I can really deal with right now, not with the Exalted Council going on. If they knew about this…”

“They’d demand you step down immediately and might accuse you of being a danger to the world,” Varric finished for her. He pulled her closer against his chest. “Alright, Sofia, I won’t tell anyone. Though I might share what my people have found about red lyrium with Dorian and Vivienne. Who else knows?”

“Just them and Bull,” she replied. “I couldn’t hide it from everyone. Bull and Dorian probably know me better than anyone but you. They’re sworn to secrecy. Cullen, Cassandra, and Josephine are already under enough stress.”

“We’ll find a way to take care of it,” Varric said firmly. He gazed into those hazel orbs that had teased and tormented him for years now. “I won’t lose you.”

She lifted her brows at him. “You won’t lose me, hmm?”

“I meant what I said, Sofia,” Varric replied seriously. “I want a future, a future with you…not even Bianca ever made me think about settling down or getting married. But you? You I could spend the rest of my life with and it would be perfect.”

“You’ve such a way with words,” she laughed softly, leaning in to kiss him again. “Thank you, Varric.”

He smiled. “Thank you, for waiting. Now, perhaps we should make up for lost time?”


	14. Decisions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cadash deals with the Qunari, Solas, and makes a final decision before the Exalted Council.  
> Then a little fluff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a Friendly Drink.  
> Dragon Age Inquisition Fan Fiction  
> Female Cadash Inquisitor  
> Note: I do not own DA or any of the characters or setting, those belong to Bioware, I am merely borrowing them for entertainment purposes.

Sofia was fairly certain that she had never hated anything so much as she hated those stupid, elven mirrors. While they might prove a boon to some people, with the ability to travel quickly across vast distances, the risk of other people, like the Qun, getting a hold of them and controlling them, seemed to great to her.

This whole mess during the Exalted Council had proven that thought correct.

Between the infighting among her own inner circle, until she’d revealed to Leliana, Cullen, Cassandra, and Josephine that her hand was virtually killing her, the headache of the Qunari, the Eluvian, and the Exalted Council, she was surprised she hadn’t completely lost her temper and blasted someone with the sodding anchor.

Now she was limping through an ancient ruin filled with stone Qunari, and listening to Viddasala arguing, and chasing, someone.

Oh how she hated that woman. So many people twisted and dead because Viddasala decided she had to bring the Qun to the South. The gentle path Cadash’s ass.

There was someone else, and Cadash frowned when she heard the voice, recognizing it, and the words. Bull had been teaching her Qunlat over the past two years, as it always paid to know the languages of both your allies and your enemies.

Then she came upon the side of Viddasala’s stone body. Her only regret where was that she hadn’t been able to kill the woman herself.

She bit back a wince as power flared in the Anchor up her arm. She pulled off the glove as she approached Solas warily. The green had spread all the way up to her elbow by now, consuming her lower arm entirely.

“Solas,” she greeted him, looking into the calm eyes of a man she’d once called friends.

“Inquisitor, Sofia,” he replied in a tone she couldn’t quite read.

The next several minutes became a haze. Solas explained exactly what the sodding mark on her hand really was, and that it was really his fault all of this had happened to begin with. Those words pained her, because she’d wanted to think Solas was helping the Inquisition because it was the right thing to do, not because he was trying desperately to clean up the mess he himself had made.

And now he wanted to destroy the world as it was and tear down the Veil. That action would likely kill millions, and drive those who survived insane. 

Cadash looked at him sorrowfully, and saw a similar look in his own eyes. She tried to reason with him, though in her heart she knew it seemed hopeless.

“Solas, that world is gone…the very people who follow you, the elves, they may be harmed as much as anyone else but ripping the Fade down. A sudden action like that, how many people will it kill? It’s just as bad as them falling to the Qun.”

“At least I will let them die in comfort,” Solas replied, utterly sure of his words.

She shook her head. “No, Solas…there’s someone still in you that really cares about the world and doesn’t want to kill everyone. I’ll stop you, somehow.”

Solas smiled sadly. “Perhaps, Inquisitior. You can certainly try.”

Then her arm flared, pain completely engulfing her as she fell to her knees. She clenched her fist, trying to will herself not to feel the feeling that her entire arm was on fire, the burning spreading through her blood like a plague.

“The Mark is killing you,” Solas said simply. “It was never meant for a mortal’s hand.” Gently, he reached down, and for a moment she saw the glance of her old friend, as he touched the mark and removed it from her hand.

The power was gone, leaving a ruined arm behind. She could feel nothing below her elbow. Solas smiled sadly at her and touched her shoulder. “Better your arm than your life, for now. I am sorry, Inquisitor.”

And then he was gone.

Cadash stared at her ruined arm for long minutes, her mind swirling with the plans Solas had told her of. Her mouth formed a thin line. The man had been her friend an ally, once, and she felt a knew determination to save him from himself. 

It would take resources. The Inquisition was open to corruption, as large as it was, but it was something they would have to guard against. And now, this was a job bigger than just one person. She crawled to a nearby piece of rubble and forced herself to her feet with her right arm. Plans began forming in her mind as she began to pick her way back among the rubble and the stone Qunari towards where she’d left her companions.

She ignored the looks of horror on Dorian and Cassandra’s faces when she reappeared with a ruined arm. Instead she looked at Bull and gave a single signal with her right hand. It was one the two of them had worked out during the Exalted Council, and he knew exactly what to do.

Sofia was glad Varric wasn’t there to see this.

But Dorian and Cassandra seemed to understand when Bull pulled the axe off his back and Cadash set her ruined arm on a rock. Cassandra began digging through her bag, pulling out healing salve and bandages, and Dorian grimly summoned fire to his fingertips.

Cadash didn’t cry out as Bull swung the axe and brought it down. She gritted her teeth as tears of pain sprang to her eyes instead. Bull severed the arm cleanly, and Dorian immediately brought the flame to her arm, cauterizing the wound. Cassandra cleaned the remaining stump with an impassive expression and applied salve and bandages. With Dorian’s quick motions and fire, it didn’t have very long to bleed at least.

Gently, Cassandra put a hand on Cadash’s left shoulder, and the three lead their Inquisitor back the way they’d come.

~~

Her booted footsteps echoed through the hall as she entered the Council. She could hear the raised voices of the Empress and Bann Teagan as they argued something with Josephine. 

Cadash kicked the door open, since her remaining right hand was full, and strode grimly. Shock momentarily flickered over many expressions as they took in the sight of the Inquisitor, cleaned and changed from her fight with Qunari, but missing an arm.

She made a speech that would no doubt be recorded by bards, and twisted out of context for centuries to come, but Sofia Cadash had made her decision.

She knew her days as an Inquisitor actively leading the Inquisition into battle were over. The loss of her arm was only one visible sign of that. But now that the Inquisition would be a peacekeeping force, and one that would answer directly to the Divine, her traveling days weren’t finished.

Briefly, selfishly, she’d considered disbanding the Inquisition and retiring to Kirkwall and taking up a quiet life with Varric, but that never would have suited her completely. That didn’t mean, however, that she couldn’t spend a good deal of time in Kirkwall.

In her plans, Cadash didn’t intend to be the only Inquisition representative anymore. With Leliana’s help and approval, they would recruit other agents to represent their interests in various parts of the world. There was no reason she couldn’t represent the Inquisition in the Free Marches. She knew Marchers, she’d be a better representative than many others.

When she, Cassandra, Dorian, and Bull had arrived back in Val Royale, she’d quickly bathed and changed, taking no time to see or speak with anyone else before she forced her way into the Council chambers.

She saw Leliana smile when she made her decision, and knew the Divine approved. They would work things out.

Now, hours later, there was still quite a stir about her decision, but her inner circle seemed to accept her decision. There was some regret but some relief mingled in their expressions. There was good and bad to her decision.

Tomorrow, she’d have to deal with that good and bad, but tonight, she would rest, and be just a dwarf for a little while.

Varric was waiting on the other side of the chamber doors when she finally exited the Exalted Council that evening. She could see the strain and worry in his expression as he regarded the stump of her left arm, and she knew he’d gotten the story from Cassandra.

“Was there no other way?” he asked.

Cadash shook her head. “There was nothing left of that part of my arm, Varric,” she replied wearily. “The Mark had eaten it up…Solas saved my life by taking it.” She gave him a sardonic smile. “Better my arm than my life, eh?”

“I guess you won’t be coming to Kirkwall now,” Varric ventured.

Sofia’s smile widened. “Oh, I will be, Varric. I may not be able to stay forever, but I will be spending a great deal of time in Kirkwall. I have plans, you see, on what to do with the Inquisition, and we need a base in the north. I believe Kirkwall will suit nicely.” Her expression sobered and she reached out with her right hand, placing it on his cheek. “I know it isn’t perfect, love, and I will have to travel, but I do intend to spend the bulk of my time in Kirkwall once I get the Inquisition settled. I’ll still have to come to Skyhold, more often than we may want, but I know that I can do this.”

He heaved a sigh, and she could see the relief in his eyes. “Well, at least you intend to spend some of your time there. It’s harder to carry on a relationship if I can never see you.” 

“I’m not Bianca, Varric, and I refuse to be a continent way from you all the time,” Sofia replied firmly.

Varric pulled her against him, calmly ignoring nobles gawking at them as they wandered out of the Council, and kissed her firmly on the lips. “Come on, sweetheart. Tonight, you’re mine. Dinner, and some time for just the two of us. We haven’t had nearly enough of that.” He lowered his voice a tad. “And perhaps later, we can discuss the possibility of a wedding in the future between the Viscount of Kirkwall, and the Inquisitor.”

She smiled. He was right, the rest could wait until tomorrow morning. “So sweep me off my feet already, Storyteller,” she said.

Varric chuckled and did just that, sweeping Cadash up and into his arms, carrying her away from the Council, the nobles, and everything else, if only for an evening.


	15. Epilogue: 2 years later

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A final wrap up to Just A Friendly Drink and Varric and Sofia's plans for the future. Thank you to everyone who read, left comments, and kudos! I hope you enjoyed my Cadash's romance with Varric. I may occasionally post one shots in the future of Sofia and Varric's life, but this is the end of this tale.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a Friendly Drink.  
> Dragon Age Inquisition Fan Fiction  
> Female Cadash Inquisitor  
> Note: I do not own DA or any of the characters or setting, those belong to Bioware, I am merely borrowing them for entertainment purposes.

Sofia Tethras stepped gratefully off the ship and glanced up at the high walls of Kirkwall spreading beyond the harbor itself. She’d spent the past five months at Skyhold dealing with Inquisition matters, and while she still loved Skyhold, it was good to be back in Kirkwall.

She heard footsteps on the dock beside her and cast a glance up at the tall, golden and curly haired human beside her as he eyed the docks with mild distaste. “Tell me again why you convinced me to come along?” Cullen muttered as the two of them started moving towards the street and a long set of stairs that would lead them to high town. Two members of the Inquisition forces followed at a discreet distance, their expressions pleasantly neutral as they regarded the city of Kirkwall.

“Because you wanted to see Hawke, and she couldn’t leave Kirkwall just yet,” Sofia replied pleasantly. “It isn’t as if this isn’t your first visit here, Cullen. You haven’t seen her in six months, I haven’t seen Varric in five. There was no way you were going to stay in Skyhold, no matter how much you may still dislike Kirkwall.”

The ex-templar sighed and ran his fingers through his curly hairy. “True. I’m hoping I can talk her into coming back to Skyhold for awhile after this visit.”

Sofia looked thoughtful as they walked, adjusting her gait carefully on a patch of uneven stone step. The last thing she needed right now was to take a fall. “Well, it’s been two years since the Inquisition became a peace keeping force and I’m not the only one in charge anymore, thank the Maker. That’s allowed me to spend more time in Kirkwall with Varric. Though he wasn’t particularly happy that I’ve been away so long this time.”

Cullen snorted. “You found out you were pregnant after you’d already arrived at Skyhold and then got caught up in Inquisition business and he hasn’t had but letters since, of course he wasn’t happy about it. Though at least you’ll be staying here until after the baby’s born.”

“I think Varric and I would both insist on that,” she replied. She eyed the additional flight of steps leading to Hightown with faint annoyance but trudged up nonetheless, stairs both here and at Skyhold were just a fact of life. “I know that Hawke’s still been helping him a fair amount with business here in Kirkwall..perhaps now that I’m back I can take over that, which would leave her free to travel to Skyhold.” She lifted her brows. “No reason Marian can’t take over a few of the duties I was dealing with at Skyhold. And I can deal with larger matters here. I’m not going to want to travel a lot until the baby is at least six months old.”

Cullen looked hopeful at that thought. “Perhaps we can speak with her about it. Marian likes to keep busy, and while she loves the city, Kirkwall..”

“Still holds a lot of bad memories for her, as much as it does you. Skyhold would suit the two of you much better, particularly now that your quarters are actually fully repaired!” Sofia chuckled. It had taken a year after the Inquisition disbanded to convince Cullen they really needed to repair the roof in his room if he was going to continue staying there.

The past two years had kept everyone busy. Since the Inquisition had transitioned to a peace keeping force, Josephine had slowly handed off her duties to a new ambassador she’d selected herself, which allowed her to return to Antiva. She still represented Inquisition matters in Antiva, however. It had been announced she would be getting married in another year and a half, an arranged match as Sofia understood it, but that was Josephine’s to deal with. The entire Inquisition’s former inner circle was invited of course, and Varric and her son or daughter would be old enough to travel at that point.

Bull and the Chargers continued doing various jobs for the Inquisition, but she knew that Bull made it to the border with Tevinter fairly often. Dorian had returned to Tevinter and seemed to be fairly successful at getting people to listen to him, though actual change was slower to come. Sofia spoke with him regularly through the crystal he had gifted her.

Vivienne had returned to the Circle and made quite a name for herself as Grand Enchanter. Leliana remained resolved as ever to make her changes as Divine Victoria, and seemed unconcerned with the assassination attempts. Sofia was fairly certain that Leliana could just smile and people and convince them to follow her side of things.

Blackwall remained with the Wardens, and from his few letters, Sofia knew he was popular with children in particular. A lot of tension between the two of them, and Varric, had eased over the past few years and Varric had written in one letter to her he was going to commission Blackwall to make a rocking gryphon for their child.

Cassandra had remained with Leliana as Divine Victoria’s advisor. Her presence was missed at Skyhold, but she visited occasionally. She’d also begun restoring the Seekers in the mountains of Orlais. She hadn’t been able to find many of the original Seekers, but she worked on reforming the Order with those she had, and had slowly begun accepting new recruits.

Sera had retired from officially causing havoc, but she, and by extension Sofia, would always be a member of Red Jenny, and Sera spent a fair amount of time working for the Inquisition on efforts that helped the less fortunate and the forgotten.

Cole was traveling with the bard Maryden, and Sofia received frequent updates via letter from the bard and her traveling companion. They brought a bit of lightheartedness to many a place, even in the most unfortunate of times.

And then there was Cullen. Cullen remained the Commander of Inquisition forces, something that saw him do a fair amount of traveling between Orlais and Skyhold. He’d recruited a few former Templars who hadn’t followed the Lord Seeker in abandoning the Chantry. While easing them off lyrium, he trained them to deal with assist with the Inquisition’s tasks. While he was happy with his position as Commander, there was one thing that troubled him still. 

Marian Hawke had spent most of the past two years in Kirkwall, but she’d come to Skyhold to visit Cullen a number of times, and he’d been to Kirkwall once to see her, though the visit hadn’t been particularly pleasant for him at first. Sofia knew that the distance saddened both of them, but Cullen couldn’t up and leave Skyhold, and Marian had been tied down with business in Kirkwall.

Sofia hoped her suggestion to Cullen would work out. She happened to know he had a fine engagement ring tucked away in one pocket, as she’d been the one who had helped him find it with her contacts among the dwarves, though whether it was merchants or Carta, she hadn’t told Cullen, and he had decided not to ask.

She was glad when they finally reached the Viscount’s palace. She’d been sea sick on most of the voyage from Orlais (or morning sick, she wasn’t entirely sure), and she wanted to find something solid, if plain, to eat. 

Bran fairly scurried down the stairs when he saw her enter with Cullen and their two Inquisition tails. She hid an amused smile at the man’s movements. Bran was too high strung for his own good. 

“Viscountess, Commander, we were expecting you in a few days,” the Seneschal greeted them. He eyed Sofia for a moment as he noticed the telltale curve of the upcoming Kirkwall heir. “The Viscount and Lady Hawke are in his office. He has finished with hearings for the day and would no doubt wish to see you two.”

“Sofia, Cullen!” Aveline’s firm voice greeted them as the Guard Captain came out of her office. “Didn’t even bother sending official word before you two came tromping up here?”

Sofia laughed. “Aveline, when have I ever done anything like that?”

Aveline’s eyes crinkled. “True enough. Think you should go see Varric, he’s been getting antsy since your letter arrived saying you were on your way.” She glanced at Cullen with an appraising eye. “And I believe Hawke’s been waiting for you too. Not going to break her heart, are we Commander?”

Aveline had always been protective of her friends.

Cullen coughed. “Nothing of the sort, Aveline, I promise. Breaking Marian’s heart is the last thing I would want to do.”

Aveline nodded is satisfaction. “Good. Well you two get going. We’ll catch up this evening.” She turned and with a swish of her red braid, she vanished back into her office. 

“Come on Cullen, lets go see what we can interrupt,” Sofia grinned and lead him towards Varric’s office.

She tested the door and smirked when she found it locked. Pulling a tool out of her belt, she inserted it in the lock and it popped open after just a moment. She pushed the door open and entered, an amused Cullen stepping in behind her. Of course Sofia Tethras could never just knock.

Varric looked faintly annoyed to be interrupted, but when he saw Sofia enter, it flashed into a welcoming grin. Sofia stepped aside as Hawke practically launched herself at Cullen, leaving the former Templar staggering back just a moment as he caught his lover. 

“Varric, we’ll meet up with the gang tonight,” Hawke announced as she ran her fingers through Cullen’s curls. “Right now I have someone I must reacquaint myself with.” She gave a wicked laugh and Sofia saw Cullen’s cheeks color a bit, but he had little time to protest as Hawke hustled him out of the office, no doubt back to her estate. From his now bemused expression, Sofia knew he went willingly.

Once the two humans were gone, Sofia closed the door casually and relocked the door.

“Sod I’ve missed you,” Varric said as the two of them met in the middle of his office. He pulled her into a tight embrace, planting his lips firmly on hers. When he pulled back he kept an arm around her, and put another on the light swell of their child. “Still not happy about how much I’ve missed of this. You are staying in Kirkwall, right?”

“I’ve made arrangements that should allow me to stay until the baby’s at least six months old,” Sofia replied to his relief. “Believe me I wasn’t happy about the distance either. I’ve managed to relinquish a few of my old duties, though, which helps.”

“Bloody time,” Varric muttered. “I don’t like having my wife far away, particularly not when she’s pregnant with our baby. Aveline claims I was inventing new swear words after I got your letter.”

“You probably were,” Sofia acknowledge. “And I am very sorry, Varric. A lot of the business couldn’t be helped, but it will bet better in the future, I promise. Can we sit please?”

Varric guided her to a couch and sat beside her on it, pulling her firmly against his side. “How are you feeling?” he asked, concern creasing his brow.

She grimaced. “Couldn’t eat much on the ship from Orlais. Morning sickness or sea sickness I’m not sure.”

“Still?” he asked. He shook his head. “We’re having a healer look over you tomorrow.”

“The baby and I are fine Varric, and it isn’t nearly as bad as it was in the first trimester,” Sofia soothed him.

“You’re still going to see a healer, love,” Varric replied firmly. 

She knew arguing when he was in this mood was useless so she just shrugged and gave him. “Alright.” Her eyes flickered towards the papers on his desk. “Busy afternoon of paperwork?” she inquired innocently.

His eyes glittered. “Nothing that can’t wait; I’d rather spend the afternoon with my wife.”

“Then you’d best get me back to our rooms, Master Tethras, and we can show each other just how much we’ve missed each other,” Sofia said archly. 

The knowing and amused look they received from a maid as they exited the office and headed up the stairs towards their private quarters was returned with a slight wink from both of them.


End file.
